Boris Johnson hits back in Affordable Rent row

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing

London Mayor Boris Johnson has hit back at claims he is not standing up for Londoners over the Government's Affordable Rent plans.

He has been accused of a "woeful lack of leadership" by Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone over the plans to allow housing associations to charge rents to tenants at up to 80% of the market rate, deemed 'totally inappropriate' for London.

Livingstone said today: “There has been a woeful lack of leadership on the so-called ‘affordable rent’ plans from the Mayor of London and his team. He is the elected Mayor, he is in charge of housing investment in the capital, he should have been relentlessly arguing that the ‘Affordable Rent’ model is totally inappropriate for London.

“A serious Mayor would be making a huge fuss about this.  London needs homes for social rent, they are needed now more than ever.

“Rents at 80% of market rents, compared to social rents at 50% or less, are unaffordable to people in housing need in London.  If tenants have their rents paid through housing benefit, the benefit bill will go through the roof and force families with children up against the total benefits cap.

“Nobody in London wants the ‘Affordable Rent’ model except for the Conservative party.  Boris Johnson’s failure to mount an effective defence of real affordable housing has let London down."

However, the Mayor hit back saying London was the only region given its own chapter in the affordable rent framework. A spokesman for the Mayor said: "With a record 50,000 affordable homes set to be delivered, the Mayor takes London's affordable housing needs very seriously. He has been at the heart of negotiations with Government, the HCA and the boroughs over the last six months. This has resulted in London being the only region given its own chapter in the affordable rent framework which sets out priorities for the capital including design standards and the delivery of family homes. In addition the Mayor has also agreed contracts with housing providers in London, a separate funding settlement, and secured a third of the new programme for the capital. He will continue to ensure he delivers the model that is right for Londoners."

Mr Livingstone warned the programme would damage housing association finances: He said: “This proposal would destroy the finances of housing associations, who have admitted they would need to borrow as much in the next four years as they have in the past 23 years to fund their current programmes, putting existing social and intermediate tenants at risk as well as any future tenants or owners of their stock.”

The Government has committed £2bn to building out the existing 'social homes' under the previous Government's supply programme, with a similar figure available for housing associations to bid for the Affordable Rent programme.

The programme has been criticised for providing 'no traditional social homes' as new homes developed by housing associations - will be expected to be charged at the higher rate - so they are not heavily grant dependent.

Research by property analytics company Hometrack warned the move will bring new risks to the sector, could lead to rents being unaffordable for tenants and is still unlikely to result in enough new homes being built.

The Government expects to build around 150,000 by 2015.