The UK’s housing and cost-of-living crisis continues to be rampant among the student community. A survey conducted by the National Union of Students UK (NUS UK) revealed that 26 per cent of students have experienced difficulties paying rent in full, 36 per cent have difficulty paying their housing costs, 40 per cent report going without heating, and 17 per cent have had to use a foodbank. Whilst universities should be held responsible for their students’ well-being, government legislation is vital to rectifying the crisis.
Of course, the issue extends beyond just students. According to Shelter, homelessness is at record levels – the number of children growing up in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2010; there has also been a net loss of social housebuilding every year since 1981. Clearly, 14 years of Conservative policy failed at tackling the issue, and we are yet to see the effects the new Labour government may have.
At their party conference in Bournemouth last week, the Green Party passed a motion to “seek effective abolition of Private Landlordism,” which demonstrates their “support for building Council Housing” and moving towards a fairer housing market.
The motion’s synopsis laid out the Six Step Plan to Abolish Landlords, including more regulation and taxes on private rentals and boosting housebuilding by councils.
Carla Denyer, the Green MP for Bristol, explained that the motion “does not actually abolish landlords […] It does, however, address the housing crisis, empowers tenants, and improves their well-being. It contains a range of policies which, over time, would reduce the proportion of the housing market that is privately rented, and increase the proportion of socially rented homes.”
Many of the policies included in the Six Step Plan, such as abolishing Section 21 evictions, are a long time coming. Currently, landlords have the right to evict a tenant with just two months’ notice, without given reason, which 11,400 households fell victim to in the past year. This policy is included in the Renter’s Rights Bill, which is currently in its final stages of becoming law despite it having been a year since Labour promised to “immediately abolish no-fault evictions.”
The Greens’ policy of rent controls would massively benefit students who are struggling with skyrocketing rent. Other promising policies include introducing Business Rates on Airbnb’s/Short Lets and ending the Right to Buy to prevent council house stock being drained into private ownership.
However, there are some risks that come with a major reduction in private landlordism. The large presence of social rent and housing in Vienna has been effective in increasing affordability and access to housing, yet left residents to deal with exceptionally long waiting times for council responses to maintenance issues. Given current issues with state-run services like the NHS, the likelihood of the UK falling into this pattern seems high.
If social housing were to eventually replace private landlordism the Greens must clarify the source of funding for “building new housing on a massive scale” and address concerns of long waiting times for maintenance issues. If these qualms can be answered sufficiently, the motion has great potential.
“GPEW Transparent Logo” by NovaSpark451 is marked with CC0 1.0.
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The Greens’ Six Step Plan to Abolish Landlords
The UK’s housing and cost-of-living crisis continues to be rampant among the student community. A survey conducted by the National Union of Students UK (NUS UK) revealed that 26 per cent of students have experienced difficulties paying rent in full, 36 per cent have difficulty paying their housing costs, 40 per cent report going without heating, and 17 per cent have had to use a foodbank. Whilst universities should be held responsible for their students’ well-being, government legislation is vital to rectifying the crisis.
Of course, the issue extends beyond just students. According to Shelter, homelessness is at record levels – the number of children growing up in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2010; there has also been a net loss of social housebuilding every year since 1981. Clearly, 14 years of Conservative policy failed at tackling the issue, and we are yet to see the effects the new Labour government may have.
At their party conference in Bournemouth last week, the Green Party passed a motion to “seek effective abolition of Private Landlordism,” which demonstrates their “support for building Council Housing” and moving towards a fairer housing market.
The motion’s synopsis laid out the Six Step Plan to Abolish Landlords, including more regulation and taxes on private rentals and boosting housebuilding by councils.
Carla Denyer, the Green MP for Bristol, explained that the motion “does not actually abolish landlords […] It does, however, address the housing crisis, empowers tenants, and improves their well-being. It contains a range of policies which, over time, would reduce the proportion of the housing market that is privately rented, and increase the proportion of socially rented homes.”
Many of the policies included in the Six Step Plan, such as abolishing Section 21 evictions, are a long time coming. Currently, landlords have the right to evict a tenant with just two months’ notice, without given reason, which 11,400 households fell victim to in the past year. This policy is included in the Renter’s Rights Bill, which is currently in its final stages of becoming law despite it having been a year since Labour promised to “immediately abolish no-fault evictions.”
The Greens’ policy of rent controls would massively benefit students who are struggling with skyrocketing rent. Other promising policies include introducing Business Rates on Airbnb’s/Short Lets and ending the Right to Buy to prevent council house stock being drained into private ownership.
However, there are some risks that come with a major reduction in private landlordism. The large presence of social rent and housing in Vienna has been effective in increasing affordability and access to housing, yet left residents to deal with exceptionally long waiting times for council responses to maintenance issues. Given current issues with state-run services like the NHS, the likelihood of the UK falling into this pattern seems high.
If social housing were to eventually replace private landlordism the Greens must clarify the source of funding for “building new housing on a massive scale” and address concerns of long waiting times for maintenance issues. If these qualms can be answered sufficiently, the motion has great potential.
“GPEW Transparent Logo” by NovaSpark451 is marked with CC0 1.0.
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