Warning over Tory council’s £40,200 income cap for social housing

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

Homelessness charity Shelter fears that a London borough’s plans to ban households earning over £40,200 from its waiting list will see a “huge swathe of the population locked out of a decent place to live”.

Conservative-run Hammersmith and Fulham council (H&F) announced the plans - which have the backing of new housing minister Mark Prisk - yesterday in a bid to increase low-cost homeownership and replace an “antiquated and inefficient waiting list system that created false hopes and expectations”.

Under the plans – which kick in from April next year – households earning above £40,200 will generally not be eligible to access the housing register. Instead, they will be offered advice on other housing options including joining the council’s HomeBuy Register.

The borough – which has the fourth highest property prices in the UK – is building homes at a discounted market rate to those on low to middle incomes who live or work in the borough and might struggle otherwise to get onto the property ladder.

However, Shelter has warned that the policy will inevitably see those unable to acquire a HomeBuy property, and are both too well off for social housing, but not affluent enough for private renting locked out of a decent place to live.

Kay Boycott, director of communications, policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: “While many of these proposals sound very reasonable on paper, the devil is in the detail. 

“Shelter research earlier this year found that renting a two bedroom home in Hammersmith and Fulham is unaffordable for families earning less than £74,100.  An income cap for social housing around the £40,000 mark could therefore see a huge swathe of the population locked out of a decent place to live, too well off to access social housing but not affluent enough to find an affordable place to rent privately.”