Private Landlords Reap the Benefits from a Lack of Social Housing

A trade union has spoken out against a growing buy-to-let rental sector it says is costing the country a fortune in public money that could be better spent building social housing. The GMB argues that government spending on housing benefit to help people meet private sector rents is money ill-spent; better – and cheaper – to invest in building more social housing to provide lower rents homes that will reduce the benefits bill. As it is, the union says that around £9bn a year in housing benefit payments is simply “lining the pockets of the already wealthy”. And this is set to worsen, it suggests, as the buy-to-let sector fuels growth in the private rental market alongside the decline in availability of social housing stock. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.