Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Thursday 22nd April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak in this short but important—and, indeed, urgent—debate secured by the noble Lord, Lord Bird. I am grateful to Generation Rent and Shelter for their excellent briefings, on which I will draw in my remarks.

The package of support put in the place by the Government in March 2020 was of course welcome, as the noble Lord, Lord Bird, said. It clearly helped to keep people safe. However, over the course of the pandemic, many have fallen through the net. Thousands of renters are now in arrears, private renters have been evicted illegally, and those with no recourse to public funds who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own have no safety net at all.

I believe there are five things that the Government could, and should, do. The first relates to benefits, which have been mentioned. The Government should remove the benefit cap, make the uplift in universal credit payments permanent and unfreeze the local housing allowance.

The second measure would be to put in place a funding package to help to clear rent arrears that have built up over the pandemic—the “wiping the slate clean” idea mentioned by the speaker immediately before me, the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner. Then, of course, the Government should urgently bring forward a renters’ reform Bill to end Section 21 no-fault evictions.

The third measure would be to suspend the no recourse to public funds condition, which has pushed many into homelessness and destitution. This condition should be suspended for at least the remaining period of the pandemic.

Fourthly, local councils must be funded to resource tenancy relations services. This would help to prevent unlawful evictions, which have continued to occur and remain at a high level.

Lastly, the Government should invest in a new generation of social housing to lift thousands out of homelessness and poverty into affordable, permanent homes.

In conclusion, it should go without saying that any premises offered for private rent should be, at the very least, fit for human habitation. It is a matter of utter shame that any private renter lives in premises that fall below that standard.

Leaseholders: Properties with Cladding

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Thursday 7th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his comments on shared ownership. This tenure can be particularly unfair, if you own a proportion of your property and rent the rest, but are hit with 100% with the liability, when the problem was not of your own making. I take these points on board and we will do everything we can to ensure that people in shared ownership, on the pathway to home ownership, are protected as best they can be.

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his answers to all the questions so far. Is there a specific issue for those who have exercised their right to buy in council blocks with this cladding, and are Her Majesty’s Government addressing it?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I am not aware of a specific issue with right to buy, as we saw in the 1980s. If my Twitter account is anything to go by, it is not related. This is about all leaseholders, particularly those in high-rises, as opposed to those who have just exercised the right to buy. It is in all settings, both public housing and private housing.

Homelessness

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The noble Lord is helpful in raising those initiatives by the Big Issue and Shelter. He will be aware that there is ongoing work, through the Master of the Rolls, looking at the guidance on this.

[Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, ultimately the way to prevent an increase in homelessness is rent controls and the abolition of no-fault evictions. However, given that Shelter and Crisis have predicted thousands of possible evictions next month, the Government should enable emergency legal provisions to allow judges to prevent evictions where people have complied with reasonable and affordable repayment arrangements or are awaiting decisions on their benefit entitlement. Does the Minister agree? If not, why not?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The noble Baroness will be aware that I do not agree with the policy of rent controls. It is far more important to follow the guidance and find solutions other than eviction. Our guidance encourages landlords not to seek to repossess their properties during the period where their tenant may be sick or facing hardship due to Covid-19 and to work with their tenant to agree a plan that works for both parties. That is better than the kind of intervention that she suggests.

Covid-19: Housing

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The Government are aware, from both local planning authorities and the development industry, that there are delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a risk of unimplemented planning permissions collapsing and therefore undermining the delivery of projects. We recognise these concerns and are considering whether permissions should be extended.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, while the Government’s intention to restart the housing market is welcome, provided that it is done under safe conditions, are the Government considering the following: backing local authority recovery plans through a combination of accelerated capital investment and low-cost lending in housing to get the sector moving again; protecting and accelerating council housing programmes under which thousands of homes are planned across the country, focusing on social and affordable rental homes; bringing forward future phases of development on largely privately owned sites through a combination of grants and guarantees, backed by central government, and conversion to affordable and key worker housing and build to rent; and, finally, creating a programme of specialist housing delivery, to keep rough sleepers off the streets for ever?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

That is a many-pronged question, if I may say so. On the last point, having taken 5,400 people—over 90% of rough sleepers—off the streets, we have a great opportunity to work on a big, bold plan to ensure that those people stay in settled and secure accommodation. Louise Casey is working with officials, local authorities and homelessness charities—this involves all layers of government—to develop the necessary measures to achieve just that. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The noble Baroness raised other technical points; I will write to her on those and place a copy in the Library.

Housing for the Homeless

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, I live in London and I am therefore most familiar with the situation here. I understand that there are 4,000 rough sleepers in hotels across London. Without government support, these people will certainly end up back on the streets. To avoid this there must be capital investment from the Government, with landlords bringing empty houses back into use, and, of course, access to affordable, good-quality private rented sector accommodation procured centrally to avoid local authorities competing for limited stock. Ultimately, a significantly funded programme of housebuilding by local authorities to provide public housing is clearly needed. Adequate housing for all is surely an ambition to which we all aspire. As a human rights issue, it is something that we simply must achieve.