Landlord Facing Legal Action

A buy-to-let tycoon who banned Indian and Pakistani tenants from renting his homes "because of the curry smell" is facing legal action. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has applied for an injunction against Fergus Wilson. In his latest letting criteria, the Kent landlord has also banned zero-hour workers, single parents and "battered wives". Mr Wilson has defended his lettings policy on economic grounds. EHRC chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said it had applied for an injunction at Central London County Court. Read more on the BBC.

Evicted Young Mothers May Be Rehoused 200 Miles Away

Twenty-nine young single mothers facing eviction from the UK's largest hostel for homeless young people in London have been told they may be rehoused as far away as Manchester, Birmingham and Hastings as a result of cuts and welfare reforms. The exodus, which represents potentially one of the largest displacements of vulnerable people since the coalition's social security reform programme began, was triggered after housing support funding for young parents at Focus E15, a specialist hostel in east London, was cut by Newham council.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Single Parents in PRS Face Poverty

The introduction of universal credit could leave many single-parent families facing a life in poverty because of rising private sector housing costs.  A study from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University found that the caps on how much benefit can be claimed under the new system will leave many worse-off even if they take part-time work.  According to the research – published by the charity for single people Gingerbread – a single parent with an average private rent earning the minimum wage would stay below the poverty line even if they work up to 16 hours a week.  In contrast, someone paying a social rent, covered fully by universal credit, would be able to escape poverty by working only a few hours a week.  The report further found that the universal credit will provide a disincentive to work longer hours for many people.  Download a copy of the report - Struggling to make ends meet - from the Gingerbread website.