Local authorities need help to sort social housing

Helen Morgan has called for councils to be given the tools they need to make sure vulnerable people have homes they can afford to both live in and heat.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for housing and North Shropshire MP told the Commons it is “essential” that the Government fills the funding gap for local authorities to make sure the most vulnerable people are protected as inflation and interest rates hit council budgets.

Helen highlighted the fact that nearly 1.2 million people are on council house waiting lists due to a shortage of social housing across the country. Despite this, social housing tenants are able to purchase their homes through the right to buy scheme and then immediately rent them out privately.

The North Shropshire MP was “astonished” to learn from local housing providers that properties can be moved straight into the private sector in this way, forcing local councils to pick up the bill.

Helen explained: “Any loss of social rented housing risks pushing more families into the private rented sector, as well as driving up housing benefit rents and spending, and compounding the homelessness crisis.

“I therefore urge the Secretary of State to allow local authorities and housing associations to retain 100% of the proceeds of houses sold under the right to buy, in order to maintain and build the stock of social housing as appropriate for the needs of their communities.”

Speaking during a debate on social housing regulation, Helen also called on the Government to retrofit social housing with insulation and make sure that newly-built housing is warm and affordable.

She also called for a firm commitment to end no-fault evictions of those in both private rented accommodation and social housing.

Helen continued: “I also want the dangerous cladding that still affects much of the social housing stock to be dealt with as a matter of urgency, and I want to see an extension of the safeguards applying to faulty electrical appliances to online marketplaces, so that we can ensure that a terrible tragedy like Grenfell does not happen again because of unsafe appliances in people’s home.”