June 8, 2013
I’ve dealt with my first burglary over the last couple of weeks. It happened on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend, I was heading out for the evening with friends when I got the call. The burglars had crow barred their way into a locked window in broad daylight and stolen all they could get their hands on. Of course, it’s the tenants who really suffer as it’s their belongings – and sense of security – that were stolen, […]
April 16, 2013
There has been a worrying increase in calls for rent controls recently. The Labour Party Private Housing Policy Review in December 2012 calls for annual indexation of rent increases once the initial rent has been set. More worryingly, MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn and this week David Lammy seem to be calling for a return to something akin to 1970s housing policy. Lammy’s comments were in response to the introduction of Universal Credit in four London boroughs on 15 April 2013 where the total welfare […]
March 24, 2013
I chair the regular NLA London Regional seminar sponsored by Edmund Cude at the Institute of Directors. This month we were looking at the un-joined-up housing policy of the current government, proposals from shadow housing minister Jack Dromey MP, welfare reform impacts in Hackney presented by Jennifer Wynter and realistic strategies for dealing with rogue landlords. Mira Bar-Hillel from the Evening Standard joined us for the panel discussion to stir things up.
My thesis on un-joined up housing policy consisted of a critical analysis of some […]
February 19, 2013
Over 660,000 tenants will be affected by the government’s bedroom tax – or under occupancy penalty to give it its official title – from 1 April 2013. The aim of the policy is to reduce the £20 billion annual housing benefit bill by £1 billion over two years and create a fairer system within the social rented sector.
So how will the tax or penalty work? Firstly it will only affect tenants in council or housing association accommodation who are claiming housing benefit. Each adult is […]
January 19, 2013
During the cold snap, I visited a couple and their child who rent one of my flats. They speak limited English and wanted to meet me face to face as they’d had a confusing letter from the water utility about a meter change. They’re often a bit embarrassed about bothering me: I aim to be patient and encourage open discussion. We resolved the water meter issue and then the husband prompted his wife to say something about the last gas bill they’d […]
