Leeds Housing Conference

a report from Nick Jones

Around 60 people attended the Leeds Hands Off Our Homes Housing Summit in Leeds on Saturday 12th March.

Quintin Bradley explained that the law. “Public money subsidy would be transferred from people on low incomes to people on high incomes. “The main plank of this policy is to stop the development  of any affordable rented housing  and build only discounted home ownership.” The new ‘Starter Homes’ are the new definition of an affordable home, in London cost £450,000 and outside London costs £250,000. Private developers will no longer be required to build a percentage of social or rented accommodation.

According to Shelter, these so called affordable starter homes will not be affordable to any families on low to average incomes. In addition local authorities will be forced to sell council housing valued at £89,000 or above, when they become vacant. If they do not sell the homes, the local authority will be forced to pay a levy. The levy or the money from the property sale goes directly to the Treasury and will not be used to replace the housing.. This means Leeds will be forced to sell 6% of it’s housing stock will disappear, York 18%, Harrogate 60% and in London Boroughs this means virtually all Council Housing will go. Council tenants will now be given short term tenancy agreements between two to five years. The right to succession and a security of a family home has been removed.

Under the right to buy 20,000 council homes have been sold under the right to buy’ since 2010 and only 1 out of every 8 has been replaced. The ‘Pay to Stay’ scheme means any council tenant earning above £30,000 will be forced to pay the market rate. Only 7% of council tenants earn £30,000 or more. Now local authorities have to constantly obtain income data to review income of tenants in order to check what rate they pay.

Under the Starter Home initiative you need to earn £100,000 a year to buy a £450,000 in London. You would be given a 20% discount on the house and can sell it at the market price after 5 years and net a sum of £140,000. A massive public subsidy of the better off in society.

Joe Halewood  (Housing Consultant) explained the reality of social tenants. For every 100 social tenants 43 are in work. Of these 28 do not claim housing benefit and 17 are in low paid or zero hours contracts requiring Government assistance. A further 27 are disabled, 24 are pensioners and only 6% claim unemployment benefits. The introduction of the £20,000 benefit cap will penalise families in social housing. This will see an estimated number of 3,622 families in Leeds from October with an average loss of £76 per week.  Joe explained that the impact of changes to the benefit system would make it harder for people to find additional income to pay rent. The ‘reforms’ would lead to increase evictions with children, lead to less care homes, refuge and increase the number of rough sleepers.

Campaigners agreed to continue to lobby their local councillors, MP’s and the House of Lords. Try and get Tenants Associations , the Local Authority and Social Housing provider to work together to inform tenants of the risks the new bill introduces. People were urged to campaign in local areas and support the ‘Kill the Bill’ campaign.