On 22 November, Tory Housing Minister Grant Shapps launched a consultation on changes to Council and Housing Association tenancies which are so far-reaching that they should, for the sake of present and future tenants, be challenged and queried by the Borough Council, says Labour Housing lead Cllr. Deborah Edwards.
Comments are required to be in by 17 January, and Cllr. Edwards is calling on Lead Councillor Daisy Benson to ensure the Council comments on a number of key issues, with the comments being ratified by Cabinet on 21 January.
“Labour warned tenants before the election about Grant Shapps’ thinking,” Cllr. Edwards adds, “and there was a furious reaction from the Tories (see Reading Post story of 5 May), with Rob Wilson saying the claims were ‘utterly disgraceful’ and Alok Sharma pledging that the Tories would respect tenures and recognised the pride people had in their homes and communities. But just over six months later, our warnings about shorter tenancies and higher rents are coming true.
“The White Paper begs many questions,” Cllr. Edwards says. “Is the Government really saying that people who are on the waiting list sometimes for years, having to swap from one private rent to another, should then be offered a ‘flexible tenancy’ by a Council of Housing Association for just two years, when what they mostly crave is a stable home where they can raise their children and put them through school? What if you’ve accepted a flat in a tower block while waiting for a house – do you now only get two years in the house? How can we hope to build stronger communities on Council estates in the future if, in course of time, nobody stays around longer than a couple of years? While Mr Shapps is guaranteeing existing tenants a right of succession if your partner dies or there is a marriage break-up, is that still a secure tenancy or are you too out after two years? What if even with Housing Benefit you can’t, after George Osborne’s cuts, afford the 80% of market rent Mr Shapps chooses to call ‘Affordable Rent’? These plans just don’t stack up
“There is nothing on Reading Cabinet’s Forward Plan about responding to the consultation and raising these sort of issues,” Cllr.Edwards says, “ but not to do so would really be to let down present and future tenants whose interests Cllr. Benson pledged at June Council to protect. If she and her colleagues won’t respond to the consultation, then Labour Councillors will consult with RFTRA and others and ensure Mr Shapps does hear from Reading! He surely needs to.”
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