Private renting - the housing horror stories

Ken Livingstone

Rip-off agency fees. Deposits lost unfairly. Rogue landlords evicting tenants with little notice and hiking rent with no warning. Smashed windows, faulty locks and broken fridges not being fixed for weeks or months. Rodent infestations. Damp and mouldy bathrooms being left to rot.These are just some of the housing horror stories Londoners renting in the capital have told Ken Livingstone,  Labour's Mayoral candidate, about in recent months. He is under no illusions that there are many more out there. If you have a similar story you would like to share contact Ken Livingstone here.

 But I don't rent privately so how does this affect me? Well read on:

A recent housing market analysis undertaken by Oxford Economics (OE) confirms that owner occupation in London is increasingly unaffordable . In 2001 owner occupation accounted for 60% of households in London. In 2010 it had fallen to 52%. OE estimate this will fall to just above 40% by 2025.

The fall in owner occupation will force more people to rent privately as it is impossible for social housing (Councils and Housing Associations) will fill the gap.  OE estimate rents in London will rise by 4% each year over the next 10 years.

 The Halifax who coined the phrase ‘Generation Rent’ to show that people no longer feel that they will be able to buy and that half of 20-45 year olds now think renting is the norm, similar to much of the rest of Europe.

 The increasing number of families unable to pay the mortgage and facing repossession are typically families on middle and low incomes. They are often younger families who stretched themselves to buy during the mid-2000s and do not have much of a cushion to absorb a loss in income or an increase in their mortgage rate.

 As our communities become more reliant on private landlords to provide their homes more people are suggesting that the private sector needs reform. The Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), with very limited security of tenure, was introduced in 1989 to encourage new landlords into the market and was seen as an acceptable option for younger mobile workers.

As a result there are a lot more small landlords using property as an investment encouraged by buy-to-let financing and inheritance. Many of these smaller landlords use agents to find tenants and manage their property at often extortionate rates. Some agents charge sitting tenants an extortionate fee just to renew the tenancy each year, sometimes without the knowledge of the landlord.  A small proportion of landlords have leased their property to social landlords to house homeless families at market rents and largely paid for by the taxpayer through housing benefit. This is particulary ironic when the rented property was previously a Council home sold at a discount under the right-to-buy.

 Extremely high rents are almost exclusively found in London and areas close to London with good commuter links.  In L.B Hillingdon average rent for a 2 bed home costs £968 or 49% of average take-home pay, which is actually one of the cheapest areas in London. As a result when housing benefit cuts start to take hold in 2012  we can expect increased pressure on the local housing market from low income families forced to move out of central London because of cuts in benefits and tax credits.

 As private renting becomes the norm there is real concern over the suitability of the AST for young families with children. With high rents and insecure AST working families can be forced to move regularly which will have other negative social consequences and the disruption this can cause for their schooling, child care arrangements and work options. Those households particularly vulnerable are at risk of being exploited.

There is an urgent need for government to pay more attention to the sector.
 
Here are some of the questions being asked by Steve Hilditch and others in the Labour Party:

• Are there mechanisms by which rents could be constrained without impacting unduly on supply?
• Could rent restraint be linked to the achievement of decency standards? 
• Do we want to control the transfer of owner occupied homes into private renting, and especially into multiple occupation? 
• Are there ways of ensuring that new investment in private renting is channeled into supporting new build instead? 
• In a period of huge cuts, what more can be done to improve monitoring and enforcement against rogue landlords?

Let us have your comments on any of the above or if you would like to share your experiences of private renting either as a tenant or landlord please post a comment below.

Fund raising

This morning Branch members raised a total of £57.04 at a local car boot sale selling goods donated by branch members and supporters, to offset some of the costs incurred in local campaigning.

The money raised will be paid into the CLP accounts next week.

Many thanks to all members and supporters who contributed to the stall either in time or donations.

If you would like to make a donation to the Branch to support our local campaigning email South Ruislip and Manor LP.

Next branch meeting: 1 November 8pm

The next branch meeting will be held at 8pm Tuesday 1 November.

For more information on the venue and agenda email South Ruislip and Manor LP

I’ll cut fares for Londoners - Ken

Ken Livingstone today announced details of an emergency fares package to cut fares which he would introduce if elected in May 2012.

Ken promised to rip up Boris Johnson’s ‘high fare’ policy which has committed Londoners to 20 years of fare increases at 2% above inflation and replace it with a fairer fares package starting with an immediate overall fares cut:

* An overall cut in fares for Londoners of 5% in the autumn of 2012

* No further fare rises at all in 2013.

* From January 2014 and in subsequent years no fare rises above RPI inflation.

Ken Livingstone said, “Fares must be cut - on transport grounds to make the system more attractive, but also on economic grounds to put ordinary Londoners first by putting money back in the pockets that will boost the London economy. I’m drawing a line in the sand - Boris Johnson will hit you with a painful fare increase this coming January, but if I am elected by October the fares will be cut. There could be no clearer choice."

For more information see  Ken for London

Next branch meeting - Tuesday 4 October 2011

The next branch meeting will be held 8pm Tuesday 4 October.

For more information email sruislipandmanorlp@blueyonder.co.uk for further details.

Tory Housing Minister creates fear for home owners

No less than 159 leading legal academics, solicitors and barristers who practise in housing law have accused Conservative politicians, including Grant Shapps, the outspoken Housing Minister,  of "making misleading statements and failing to challenge inaccurate reporting'  thereby furthering 'the myths being peddled around squatting".

In a letter to the Guardian the legal experts point out "that it is already a criminal offence for a squatter to occupy someone's home, or a home that a person intends to occupy" and "are concerned that such repeated inaccurate reporting of this issue has created fear for homeowners, confusion for the police and ill informed debate among both the public and politicians on reforming the law."

The lawyers are adamant that there is no need for a change in the law to make squatting a criminal offence because the existing law already does this.


One has to wonder why are these Conservative politicians are stirring up such concerns unnecessarily and pursuing such pointless campaign at a time when homelessness has risen 17% in a year?

Could it be that the Tories are  protecting their rich friends' property interests by extending the law on squatting or are they deliberately turning public opinion against the poor?


Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said two weeks ago: ‘Today’s official figures prove once again we now face a sustained increase in homelessness but, worryingly, this research predicts the worst is yet to come.

‘The coalition government is dismantling the buffers against poverty and unemployment that have traditionally kept a roof over vulnerable households’ heads. Homelessness is rising and we fear cuts to housing benefit and housing budgets, alongside reforms in the Welfare Reform and Localism Bills will cause it to increase yet further. We need the government to change course now or risk returning us to the days of countless lives facing the debilitating effects of homelessness.’

Cost cutting on democracy could exclude 10 million voters

At the moment, councils up and down the country are getting people to register to vote as part of their annual canvass.  The way we register voters hasn’t changed much in over 100 years but a new system of individual registration is being introduced in 2014.

Individual voter registration is supported by all the main parties and will make it much easier to prevent voting fraud. Unfortunately, the way the government is planning to implement it is causing concern and could leave as many as 10 million people excluded from the political process.

There are two big problems with the government’s plans, quietly published over the summer. They plan to drop the full annual canvass in 2014 as a cost-cutting exercise. The Electoral Commission warns that this alone could result in 2-3 million people unregistered.

The government is also proposing to scrap the legal obligation for people to provide their local Electoral Registration Officer with information; essentially people will be able to drop off the electoral map.

With only 65% of registered voters actually casting their vote in the last general election, this change in the law will inevitably make it harder for local authorities and political parties to engage with those groups who are already under-represented. Together with the scrapping of the canvass, this could lead to up to 10 million fewer people on the register, predominantly young people, people living in privately rented accommodation and members of ethnic minorities.

Combine this with the controversial new system of boundary reviews and it becomes even more toxic; some of the most deprived and alienated voters will be left without proper representation at all. It would also adversely affect the jury system and impact on individuals’ credit ratings.

The voting system leaves enough people out in the cold as it is without the registration system making things worse. We can’t let these proposals become law without significant changes.

A number of MPs have already voiced their concerns by signing “Early Day Motion 2187: Impact of Individual Voter Registration” (an Early Day Motion is a type of petition that MPs can add their name to to express an opinion about an issue).

Please write to our local MP,

John Randall MP,

House of Commons

Houses of Parliament

London SW1A 0AA

and ask him to you write to the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Political and Constitutional Reform Mark Harper to ask him to abandon these plans and,  if he has not already done so, sign Early Day Motion 2187: Impact of Individual Voter Registration.

For a draft letter click on the this link to Unlock Democracy. 


Acknowledgements to Unlock Democracy as the source of this article.