There is a housing crisis in London and, in dealing with it, we must no longer overlook the private rented sector.
Over recent months, I have been travelling to every corner of London, spending a full day in 22 boroughs. By January, I’ll have done the same in every single London borough. In each place, I’ve been holding a “Tell Ken” public meeting where I invite Londoners to come along and tell me about their biggest concerns and local issues.
It will come as little surprise to hear that week in and week out, housing tops the agenda. I hear from too many
people struggling on waiting lists andliving in overcrowded or unsuitable accommodation, who represent the reality of London’s social housing shortage. But there is also another group of Londoners coming forward to report their housing problems – those renting private accommodation. In many cases, these are people with good jobs and promising futures – but despite this, they are struggling to make a home in the capital, thanks to rogue landlords, rip-off agencies and accommodation which just isn’t up to scratch.
Almost 700,000 households in the capital currently rent in the rented private sector – that’s a quarter of all London households. The number of people being affected by these issues is huge and action is now needed urgently.
While the problems of the private rented sector have always existed, they have been exacerbated in recent years by the financial crisis, and the chronic undersupply of homes in the capital. Yet the lack of homes available is being cynically exploited by some landlords. From rent “gazumping” to tenants being forced to pay a deposit of hundreds of pounds to merely guarantee first viewing on a property, the feeling among many young Londoners seems to be that they are lucky to be able to find a home at all – let alone one that is of a decent standard or a fair price.
Among the stories, we’ve heard of tenants being left homeless when their homes were repossessed – because despite paying their rent, the landlord had failed to pay the mortgage. We’ve heard of landlords putting up rent by hundreds of pounds a month without warning because they “need the cash”.
This cannot be right. We should need, want and encourage people to continue to come to London and make our city their own, but if that first hurdle – finding a home – is too high, we risk losing vital talent and driving people out of London.
Every Londoner deserves a decent home. Yet the evidence that our “Housing Horrors” campaign has gathered so far shows that paying thousands of pounds in rent for private accommodation in London does not even guarantee this. Londoners have told us about living with rodent infestations, cockroaches, mouldy bathrooms and mushrooms growing out of floorboards. This is despite the fact that the average private rent for a two-bedroom home in London is £1,360 a month – that’s £16,320 a year. In 22 London boroughs, private rents for a two-bedroom home are more than 50 per cent of average take home pay – and they are more than 40 per cent in the rest.
So I’m urging Londoners to share their housing horror stories from me, via my website www.kenlivingstone.com, Facebook page, or Twitter, @ken4london – using the hashtag #housing horrors. Many of those I have heard already have been truly shocking but I have no doubt there are more out there. I’m determined to set out ambitious plans to improve housing for Londoners and I want the experiences of ordinary Londoners to shape this policy.
Together, we can stand up for ordinary Londoners and improve housing for all.
