A report from the housing campaign, Crisis, in collaboration with Herior-Watt University and the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence indicates that around a third of housing associations surveyed said pre-tenancy affordability checks determined that the applicant would not be given a tenancy due to “too low an income or insecure finances”. According to Crisis … Continue reading Too poor for council or housing association homes
Category: Housing Associations
Government rent consultation: NO to above inflation rent increases
The government is consulting on a rent policy of 5 years or more of above inflation rent increases of a maximum of CPI+1%, for council and housing association tenants. We explain below why we are opposed to this proposal. The premise of the consultation document seems to be that above inflation rent increases for five … Continue reading Government rent consultation: NO to above inflation rent increases
The gentrification of social housing
Tom Murtha writes that "the very nature of housing association development today leads to gentrification". I am sometimes accused of having a rose-tinted view of the past when I talk about housing associations losing their social purpose and traditional values. I find this strange, as I am one of the few still active who witnessed … Continue reading The gentrification of social housing
“Council housing rescued us when we were homeless”
Tom Murtha, now retired, was very prominent in the housing association sector. We interview him about his experience and the current situation, with an increasing trend towards commercialisation. You spent many years working for housing associations. Could you tell us what you did and why you decided to work in that field? I was born … Continue reading “Council housing rescued us when we were homeless”
Wycombe CLP supports the call for ending Right to Buy
Wycombe CLP has passed a resolution which, amongst other things, supports our call for Labour to commit to ending Right to Buy and for an end to the Right to Aquire for housing associations. Buckinghamshire is one of those areas where all the council housing stock was transferred to housing associations. It is spending nearly … Continue reading Wycombe CLP supports the call for ending Right to Buy
“None so deaf as those who will not hear”
Housing Association Riverside`s runaround and doing right thing A Carlilse councillor who made a phone call to Riverside Housing Association said the runaround he got from that Liverpool organisation reminded him of the phrase “none so deaf as those who will not hear”. The councillor said he made the call on behalf of a constituent … Continue reading “None so deaf as those who will not hear”
Time to end “Affordable rent”
Inside Housing has reported that housing association tenants are struggling to cope with the higher rents charged by landlords for so-called “affordable rent”. There's no reason to suspect that council tenants are any different. Read on below or download a PDF here ar-againDownload So-called affordable rent (AR) was introduced by the coalition government as part … Continue reading Time to end “Affordable rent”
Labour Campaign for Council Housing 