The housing and planning bill currently before parliament will invent the housing crisis worse. It sets out to reduce the number of genuinely affordable homes,and encourage even more property speculation. Extending right to buy to housing organization tenants will be paid for by selling off “high value” council homes on the open market, with no guarantee that homes sold will be replaced. Council and housing organization tenants with a family income over £30000 (£40000 in London) will be pushed to pay market rents, and driving many from their homes and destroying mixed communities.
On modern sites,developers can increase profits by providing publicly subsidised starter homes” for a few instead of homes for rent. Travellers will have even less chance of a site or mooring; waiting lists will get longer. The bill has nothing but token words to serve millions suffering the unaffordable rents, fixed threat of eviction and substandard conditions of private renting. The UK desperately needs a national housing strategy based on investment for need, and not greed. There are thousands of acres of publicly owned land that can be used to build a modern generation of energy-efficient council homes,cutting rents, and creating job and training opportunities.
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Source: theguardian.com