A CROSS-party coalition of over 100 council landlords, including Redditch, will jointly publish five solutions for the government to ‘secure the future of England’s council housing’.
Lead by Southwark Council, they have come together to warn that England’s council housing system is ‘broken’ and that urgent action is needed for the government to deliver its housing promises.
In July, 20 of the largest council landlords published an interim summary of their recommendations.
This promoted a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and led to over 80 more councils backing their recommendations and signing the final report.
This more detailed report, sets out a full roadmap to renew the country’s council housing over the next decade and critical policy changes.
It explains how an unsustainable financial model and erratic national policy changes have squeezed council’s housing budgets and sent costs soaring.
Redditch Borough Councillor and portfolio holder for housing Coun Bill Hartnett attended the Westminster launch event and said: “I am absolutely delighted to be standing shoulder to shoulder with council colleagues from across the country on this matter to represent Redditch and its housing needs.”
He was joined by Redditch MP Chris Bloore who added: “It is fantastic that local authorities are working with the Government to make a difference locally and to increase the number of homes available for social rent.”
They warn that unless more is done soon, most council landlords will struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet the huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes for social rent.
Rather than increasing supply, the reality is that some councils will have no option but to sell more of their existing stock to finance investment in an ever-shrinking portfolio of council homes.
The recommendations include a new HRA model, reforms to Right to Buy policies and removing red tape on existing funding.
