Thank you to Helen Gregory and LandlordZone for the Headline
Facts,statistics and Lobbyists. In this particular instance an ex-Housing Minister (during Grenfell Tower Fire) who also held the post of Chief of Staff in Downing Street under PM Theresa May is leading the Prosper UK Housing Commission’s lobby to get the recently passed Parlimentary Law, the Renter’s Rights Act, changed to encourage investment in the Public Rental Supply.
The argument is that the only way to ensure rents are affordable is to ensure supply and that new landlords will not invest in property unless the conditions are right for them. The lobby is asking for a statutory exclusion preventing rent controls, backed by a ten-year agreement between ministers and the sector on rent indexation, to give investors greater certainty and clarity over future returns.
In reality they are not looking to offer “affordable rates ” but are looking to guarantee their investment and indeed control rents for ten years and then foist whatever they want on the poor renter for another ten year period. So a hike every ten years.
Whatever your thoughts on this, the professional lobbyist, particularly with the pedigree of an ex-MP who admirably managed to raise a Private Members Bill ( on Mental Health Discrimination) and successfully got it through Parliament is well placed to head this campaign.
It is just unfortunate that their career is a bit checkered by the fact that in the run up to the Grenfell disaster, they largely ignored warning from the All- Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fire Safety and Rescue chaired by David Amess MP. They were contacted seven times about the dangers of Class O fire rated materials , and received the last letter 26 days before the Grenfell Tower fire and took no action.
Whatever your thoughts on “investment properties” or how we organise Public Housing, relying on a market that is “controlled ” by Ministers and the sector rent indexation is extremely dangerous.
Perhaps for the future what people can afford to pay for decent housing needs a practical problem-solving approach not a percentage monetary gain approach.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
