Alliance calls on London mayor candidates to use new powers to tackle housing crisis

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing

An alliance of 16 organisations is calling on London's mayoral candidates to explain how they would use new and existing powers to tackle the housing crisis in the capital.

The alliance, made up of voluntary and community sector bodies, say they share one overriding concern:  the crisis of affordability affecting two-thirds of Londoners.

They argue that with new powers handed down by Government, the Mayor of London is now in a uniquely strong position to:

• Make the case to government that London has special housing needs (high costs, many low incomes, huge backlog) and needs continuing investment in social housing
• Use government money now handed over to London to secure maximum output of affordable units
• Work out the best way of cooperating closely with London tenants and communities in developing and implementing strategy
• Carry out essential research on the changing needs of London's evolving population and on ways of meeting these needs.

Specific recommendations include:

• A new London housing needs survey be commissioned to take account of welfare benefit changes and the introduction of new "affordable rent" tenancies; this is something the present Mayor promised in 2010 would soon be done but it has now been postponed;
• A significant proportion of land from the proposed London Public Land Pool be  handed over for community-owned housing (with support to develop models such as community land trusts and housing co-operatives);
• The voluntary and community sector be represented on the London Housing Board and a wider voluntary and community sector housing forum be developed, which the Mayor can regularly consult with on housing issues and use to engage all Londoners in housing policy that affects them.

The organisations seeking commitments from candidates are: London Civic Forum; Homeless Link; Just Space; London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies; Housing Justice; London Voluntary Service Council; London Federation of Co-operative Housing; Camden Federation of Private Tenants; Kings Cross Railway Lands Group; Zaccheaus 2000 Trust; Hayes Community Development Forum; London Tenants Federation, Stonewall Housing; London Gypsy and Traveller Unit; 4in10, Age UK London.

A statement issued by the alliance said: "This crisis results from decades of failure by governments and councils to supply enough secure affordable housing for the growing numbers of households London needs and attracts. The new housing which does get produced is mostly aimed at the market demands of high-income buyers and international investors, spending millions on flats they may not even live in.

"This crisis is getting worse, leading to homelessness, overcrowding and very long commutes. People who want to stay in London with enough security to raise a family and be part of settled communities find it harder and harder. More and more of the housing stock is occupied by transient buyers and renters, undermining stable neighbourhoods."

Alison Blackwood, London Voluntary Service Council, added:  “In my experience, it is unprecedented for such a wide range of groups to respond to a consultation with so much concern and so unanimously.  It shows a growing awareness across the voluntary and community sector about the housing crisis in London, worries about who can afford to live here and the devastating impact that past and current housing policy is having on the communities we work with.”

Matt Harrison, Interim Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said: “The Mayoral elections provide an opportunity for Londoners to have a real dialogue with the candidates and hold them to account.

"That is why we have joined some of the capital’s leading housing and tenant groups to voice our concerns over the lack of affordable housing.  While homelessness is more than a housing issue, part of the solution to homelessness is the availability of affordable housing.”

Other recommendations made by the alliance include:

• The Mayor facilitate engagement (through the support of appropriate grass roots representation) of council, housing association and private tenants’ groups
• Long-term and short-term studies need to be carried out on demographic change and the basis for need and demand estimates in London;
• Now that the law has relaxed the obligation on councils to get homeless families into secure social housing, London urgently needs a homeless applicants’ charter, produced in partnership with the voluntary sector, which should be adopted by all London boroughs;
• An explicit commitment be made that, from 2013 onwards, “no one will live on the streets of London and no individual arriving on the streets will sleep out a second night”;
• The GLA should monitor and publish reports on the placement of homeless families in private-rented housing; identifying where they are being placed outside their boroughs and the reasons for their relocation;
• Available sheltered housing, care homes and extra care housing per 1,000 older people be mapped; investment plans developed and resources allocated to parts of London where mapping shows current supply is insufficient;
• The Mayor take a strategic role in addressing the evidenced accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers.