Labour Pledges 'Tougher' Standards For Rented Houses

Labour has promised a "consumer rights revolution" for renters in England if it wins the general election, with the introduction of new legal standards for rented homes. Landlords who fail to meet the "tougher" minimum standards would face fines of up to £100,000, Labour said. The proposals include requirements for safe wiring and appliances, freedom from damp and general good repair. But the Conservatives said the plan could increase people's rent. Read more on the BBC website.

Call For Affordable Housing In London

The high cost of renting a house in London has fuelled a huge increase in the number of people in the capital who do not have enough income for a decent standard of living, a study shows. Research for the Trust for London charity found 3.5 million Londoners have less money to meet their basic needs and have a minimum level of living, an increase of 400,000 since 2010. The increased cost of private renting was singled out which has risen four times as much as in the rest of the UK, said the report. Although single adults in the rest of the country have benefited from the National Living Wage, those in London are less able to afford a decent standard of living than before the rate came in last year. Read more on Yahoo Finance.

The Impact Of Rising Housing Costs On UK Living Standards

This report explores the question of how incomes and housing costs have interacted over time. It asks a seemingly simple question: how affordable has housing been for different groups in the UK over the last two decades? Through this exercise, we show how housing costs have (or have not) contributed to living standards at different points in time, and identify who may be vulnerable to continued housing pressure over the course of this parliament. Download the report from the Resolution Foundation website.

Johnson Was Warned Over ‘Unrealistic’ Landlords Scheme

Boris Johnson's flagship plan to help hard-up renters was “unrealistic and unachievable”, according to papers released by Sadiq Khan. Data also published by the new Mayor shows that Mr Johnson’s plan to persuade 100,000 landlords to commit to higher standards attracted just 1,800 over four years. The former Tory Mayor’s proposal was so unrealistic it put City Hall’s reputation at risk, officials warned. The London Rental Standard (LRS) initiative was announced by Mr Johnson four years ago to raise the number of accredited landlords to 100,000 by 2016. It inherited about 13,300 landlords from previous schemes but as of March this year had only attracted a further 1,845. In February 2013 officials warned that the 100,000 target was “clearly unrealistic and unachievable”. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Balls Attacks Tories over 'Failure to Build New Homes'

Interest rates could rise “prematurely” because the Government has failed to build new homes quickly enough, shadow chancellor Ed Balls claims. In the latest Labour summer campaign speech he said Britons had suffered the worst fall in real wages for more than 100 years and that a rise in loan rates would deepen austerity.  Mr Balls said many modern Britons had never had it so bad.  “Even before living standards have stopped falling, this Government’s failure to get more houses built means there is now a real risk that interest rates will rise prematurely to rein in an unbalanced housing market.”  Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Report Finds 18m People Cannot Afford 'Adequate' Housing Conditions

The percentage of households falling below society’s minimum living standard has more than doubled over the last three decades, research suggests. A report led by the University of Bristol, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, reveals that 18 million people cannot afford adequate housing conditions and 12 million people are too poor to engage in common social activities. The report shows a sharp increase in the percentage of households who fall below society’s minimum standard of living, from 14 per cent to 33 per cent over the last 30 years. Researchers said full-time work is not always enough to escape from poverty and called on the government to take action. Read more on the University of Bristol website.

Households on Inadequate Incomes Increase by A Fifth in Three Years

New research shows the number of households living on incomes below the level needed to afford an adequate standard of living has increased by a fifth (900,000) in three years. Among the 20 million households whose minimum needs are calculated in the research, the number falling short of the standard needed has increased by a fifth since 2008/9 - from 3.8 million to 4.7 million households - following the onset of the recession, cuts to benefits and tax credits and the rising cost of essentials. Most of the increase came in the final year of the three-year period. Income adequacy is measured by the Minimum Income Standard (MIS), which is what the public think we all need for a minimum socially acceptable standard of living in the UK. The report reveals how many households live below the minimum amount needed, how far they are below and who they are. Download a copy of the report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

Ending Expensive Social Tenancies: Fairness, Higher Growth and More Homes

The Policy Exchange has published a report arguing that selling expensive social housing as it becomes vacant could create the largest social house building programme since the 1970s.  According to the think tank, sales would raise £4.5 billion annually which could be used to build 80,000-170,000 new social homes a year and reduce the housing waiting list by between 250,000 to 600,000 households in five years.  The report says that ending expensive social housing:

    *Will generate growth and jobs.

    *Is extremely popular with all sections of society.

    *Has no real effect on employment.

    *Raises tenants’ standard of living.

    *Will reduce the housing waiting list by between 250,000 to 600,000 households in five years.

Download a copy of the report from the Policy Exchange website.

Most Social Tenants Fall below Acceptable Income

More than 90 per cent of households in social housing in England have an income level below that needed to maintain a socially acceptable standard of living, according to a new definition.  The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report that calculates a couple with two children need to earn £36,800 to maintain an ‘acceptable standard of living’. The English Housing Survey for 2010/11 shows the income of most social housing tenants falls below this. Ninety per cent of tenants have a household income of less than £30,000, and 6 per cent of the remainder have an income between £30,000 and £40,000. In the private rented sector 65 per cent of households have an income below £30,000, and 45 per cent of household in owner occupation fall below the £30,000 threshold.  Download a copy of the report from the Joseph Rowntree website.