Terry Conway
Thousands of people thronged the streets on London on March 13, with working class women from council estates leading many contingents. More Labour Party banners were visible than on any protest since Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader, together with a whole variety of others; Left Unity, Green Party, trade union branches and many local campaigns. There was a good spirit, enhanced by the pleasant spring weather. It was overwhelmingly a march from London - though it was called to oppose measures that if enacted would be the death knell of The Housing and Planning Bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on January 12 2016 and is now going through committee stages in the House of Lords. It sets to redefine 'affordable housing' - already a concept that is nothing but a sick joke for the majority of people - in a way that will have disastrous consequences. Rather than solving the housing crisis it will make it much worse and will result in further social cleansing from the inner citAs well as increased rents and longer waiting lists, reduced rights for private renters and Travellers, the Bill would mean: THE SELL-OFF MORE COUNCIL HOUSING Councils will be compelled to sell off high value' homes on the open market when they become empty. The proceeds from these sales will be used to refund housing associations for the cost of Right to Buy
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(RTB) discounts. This means the loss of at least two homes for rent, for every property sold, and will discourage new build for rent by councils or housing associations. Many of these properties will be bought as buy-to-let by developers and landlords pushing up rents still further and putting them out of the reach of many desperate for a roof over their heads THE REMOVAL OF SECURE TENANCIES The Bill would end secure tenancies and replace them with 2-5 year fixed-term tenancies, after which tenants would have to reapply. Relatives living with the tenant would lose the right to remain and take on the tenancy if the tenant dies or gives it up. Tenants 'decanted' due to demolition and redevelopment except for management (not voluntary) transfers, and women escaping violence would also lose secure tenancies when they move. Some will be caught between the rock of the bedroom tax which means they can't cover the charges for a slightly larger property and the hard place that if they move they will lose security of tenure. Council housing was meant to provide a home for life - this is being eliminated. THE IMPOSITION OF 'PAY TO STAY' 'Pay to stay' means market-linked rent rises for council and housing association tenants, if two household members' income is over £30k (£40k in London). This creates an impossible situation for many households - if there are two people working full time this will often take them over the threshold - without in most cases having the income to stay. Examples from campaigners show cases where people's rent would multiply more than 3 times and end up over 80% of their incomes - a clear disincentive for people to work. This measure has probably been the one that has resulted in most anger. This is certainly so where I live in Islington where the local Labour council issued a leaflet to all its tenants outlining what the Bill proposes. This resulted in a massive public meeting public meeting of over 600 tenants, calling for councilors to refuse to implement the proposals. It also led to the organisation of a feeder march of several hundred to the March 13 demonstration. All this came about because the local anticuts campaign IHOOPS called a public meeting to which tenants turned up to find out what the Tories were planning - and when they found out decided to get orga REPLACES 'AFFORDABLE' HOMES FOR RENT WITH UNAFFORDABLE 'STARTER HOMES' 'Starter Homes'- the bill's flagship policy - are expensive houses, redefined as 'affordable', as a means to appropriate public money and transfer public land to developers - a developer's charter. A family earning the supposed 'national living wage' will not be able to afford one in 98% of the country. At £450,000 in London and the HOUSING SECURF ESFORALL -NOLRENTS
11 *Britain £250,000 in the rest of England, these houses are anything but affordable. They will allow developers to delve deep into the public purse, to the tune of £20bn, and grab public land. This will only exacerbate the housing crisis as they will take up space that could be used for genuine affordable housing. Instead of using public land to build public housing, space will be further depleted by developments for the well-off. And of course in the current economic context, buy-to-let homes are probably the best deal for investors - and property speculation was of course at the centre of the banking crisis. All this will force people from their homes, friends and family, healthcare and networks, breaking up communities. Millions are already forced into private renting, in damp, overcrowded housing, with no long-term security. This Bill will make that worse, and hit the poorest, the most vulnerable and women fleeing violence, and cut Traveller sites and rights. House prices make buying a dream most can't ever afford. Instead we should be investing in the secure and reallyaffordable homes we need - by freeing councils to build more council homes. Now the campaign against the Bill needs to get the message out beyond London as to what this outrageous piece of legislation would mean. And local campaigners where they have a Labour council should take a leaf out of Islington's book and find ways of getting the council to tell tenants what the Tory plans would mean for their homes, their communities and their futures.
A VIEW HOUSI