The Tories Are Building A Housing Crisis - John Prescott

When Labour left power in 1979, 42 per cent of Britons lived in council homes. Now it’s under eight per cent. So we subsidised a small minority of people to buy their own homes instead of helping others get a roof over their head. And here’s the kick. More than 30 per cent of those ex-council houses have been sold to private landlords who now charge a fortune renting them back to the poor. So we end up paying over the odds in housing benefit when it would have been better to fund housing associations and councils to build more social housing. These discounts and subsidies wasted more than £40billion of taxpayers’ money. They have created record levels of homelessness and B&B households. Read more on the Sunday Mirror website.

Leaseholders Charged Tens of Thousands for Repairs

The Brighton and Hove Leaseholders Association has met with the government over "excessive bills" for improvements to properties where the council owns the freehold. The association said many of its members faced bills for tens of thousands for improvements. The invoices are being issued by a contractor working on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council. A leaseholder who bought the leasehold of a former council flat in 2006 has recently received an estimated bill of more than £34,000 for planned building work. Read more on the BBC website.

Housing Crisis Taking Its Toll on Private Renters

More than a third of private renters in Great Britain fear having to move out of their local area because of the high cost of housing, according to a new survey. The CIH/Ipsos MORI poll questioned adults aged 16-75 online across Great Britain.  Thirty-nine per cent of those living in private rented homes agree they might have to leave their local area in the future because the cost of housing is too high, compared with 20 per cent across Great Britain as a whole. The survey also found that:

• Four in ten private renters (40%) are concerned about being able to pay the rent right now (Great Britain average: 24%)
• 43% are concerned they won’t be able to meet their monthly payments in 12 months’ time (GB average: 29%)
• Half (48%) say concerns about their housing costs are causing them a great deal or fair amount of stress (GB average: 32%)

Read more on the CIH website.