Statement: Time to end the housing crisis

Millions of us need to see the new Government’s statements on council homes and support for renters turned into action.

Our communities are experiencing severe disrepair, at the mercy of rogue landlords, others sent by councils across the country or with high rents leading to destitution. 

We need a new generation of social rent council homes to fix these problems. They need to include family-sized homes, be genuinely-affordable social rents, accessible for disabled people, and designed to meet climate emergency challenges.  

In the meantime, we need the government to implement rent controls in the private rented sector. This would reduce the cost of living for millions of renters and prevent landlords from using rent hikes to evict tenants. 

Without these measures, homelessness and social housing waiting lists will continue to rise. Already, one in 21 children in London are living in temporary accommodation, with tens of thousands of children spending their whole lives in several temporary accommodations, forced to move around and change schools multiple times. 

In 2024, it was estimated that the Government will give more than £70 billion in housing benefit and other support to private landlords over the next five years. 

Instead of transferring staggering and unsustainable amounts of money directly to private landlords, the Government must invest in building desperately-needed social rent council homes. Shelter has estimated that building 90,000 new social homes a year would pay for itself within just three years.

To address the climate emergency, we can also expand the social housing stock by acquiring, retrofitting and rebuilding the thousands of empty homes so they are fit for the 21st century. 

Fixing the housing crisis in these ways is crucial for defeating the far-right, who try to blame refugees and migrants for the lack of genuinely affordable homes. Instead let’s unite to grow the campaign for genuinely affordable, accessible homes for all.