Renters Could Oust Tories from Government In 2020

Ignore renters at your peril, the Government has been warned. Failure to reform the private rented sector could lose the Conservatives the 2020 general election, according to Generation Rent. The renter vote could determine the outcome in 96 seats currently held by the Tories, according to an analysis conducted by the organisation. On current trends, it said that overall a third of parliamentary seats could be decided by the renter vote in 2020, but aside from vague plans to increase home ownership, the government currently has no plans to improve the lives of renters. By the next General Election, Generation Rent said there will be enough floating voters who rent to overturn the current majority in 231 constituencies.  Read more on the Generation Rent website.

Barrister Predicts Bedroom Definition 'Will' Go Before Court Of Appeal

The question of what constitutes a bedroom for the purposes of welfare reform ‘will’ go before the Court of Appeal this year, a leading housing barrister has said. Dean Underwood, head of the housing team at Hardwicke Chambers, said he believed some of the first-tier decisions reached on the bedroom tax so far were ‘wrong’. Mr Underwood also predicted an unsuccessful appeal against the policy made by a group of disabled people would reach the Supreme Court. Several first-tier tribunals have overturned decisions to penalise tenants for under-occupying, after ruling spare rooms should not have been classified as bedrooms. Read more on Inside Housing.