Almshouses

Baroness Grender Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I point out that the Government have seen 140,000 affordable homes delivered by local authorities in rural England since April 2010, and I will write to the noble Baroness on that matter.

[Baroness Grender (LD) [V]]

Does the Minister agree that almshouses are welcome but do not fill the gap identified by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, which projected a shortfall of 400,000 units of specialist housing for older people in the next 15 years? Can he therefore tell us how many new social—not affordable—housing units are to be created specifically for older people to avoid the unsuitable alternative, which is inevitably the private rented sector?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I have pointed out that there are 36,000 almshouses. However, there are 700,000 specialist supported and secure accommodation homes for people in this country. In addition, the affordable homes programme includes 10% towards specialist housing—but I will write further if I can provide any assistance on that point.

Housing: Rent, Evictions and Covid-19

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Tuesday 13th October 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Grender]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 18 March about the complete ban on evictions and additional protection for renters affected by COVID-19, what progress they have made to ensure that “no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home”.

[The Minister of State, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Greenhalgh) (Con)]

I point to my relevant residential and commercial property interests as set out in the register. There has been a six-month stay on repossession proceedings and we have established an unprecedented financial package. This includes spending over £39.3 billion on the furlough scheme and boosting the welfare system by more than £9 billion. There are now new court arrangements and notice periods of six months, except in the most serious cases, to help keep tenants in their homes over winter.

[Baroness Grender (LD) [V]]

Does the Minister accept that this is a promise that cannot be met if mandatory evictions have resumed and infections are rising? What protects tenants in tiers 1 and 2, such as Michelle in Nottingham, who says:

“Rent alone each month is £575. I lost my job in March due to the virus and am now trying to survive on universal credit but I’m getting into debt with bills and barely have anything left for food”?


How do we now keep her safe?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I repeat that there has been an unprecedented level of measures to support renters and we will continue to do what is needed to keep as many safe as possible, but it is fair to say that there will be cases where renters will have to potentially seek other places to live.

Housing: Rent and Covid-19

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Thursday 8th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, the Government have set out clearly a very significant investment of £12.2 billion for affordable homes, around 50% of which will be social housing and 50% intermediate homes to provide the housing ladder of opportunity. We have to recognise that what we have actually seen is a collapse in home ownership, from a peak of 71% down to 64%. It is that that we are trying to address, to ensure that we give people the opportunity to own their own home, as well as providing the social homes that this country needs.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that this report shows a 40-year legacy of failure to build sufficient social housing? Blackpool, for example, has two-thirds of private renters on benefits but no AHP grant funding locally to build social housing. Does he accept that levelling up will remain a pipe dream if poor quality private rentals are the only option available to people on benefits?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I accept the challenge that we want to see more councils building council homes. I am delighted to point to Wandsworth, “a brighter borough”, which has announced the building of 17 three and four-bedroom properties in Roehampton. There is a growing recognition among councils that they can build again and they should: that is part of their core role.

End of Eviction Moratorium

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Thursday 24th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Greenhalgh) (Con)]

My Lords, I first declare my interests as set down in the register. I would not characterise the situation in Wales as being radically different from that in England. There is the same six-month notice period in place for evictions and we operate under the same court system and guidance that provides protections to renters. Admittedly, the Welsh Government have announced a loan scheme, without providing any timings or details of the extent of the loan. We will look at that in due course. But I point out that there have been a considerable number of measures to support tenants at this time.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, yesterday, in both Houses, Ministers emphasised the urgent need for private landlords to be able to evict in cases of domestic abuse. Does the Minister accept that there are currently no legal grounds on which a private landlord can evict a perpetrator of domestic abuse? Indeed, for social landlords, who can use ground 14A, this is restricted to use only after the survivor has left and does not intend to return. Will the Minister undertake to correct the record and ensure that the Government refrain, at all levels, from pursuing this damaging and misleading argument?

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I point out that the domestic abuse ground applies exclusively to the social sector. I will write to the noble Baroness providing clarification. This prioritisation of cases does not extend just to domestic abuse; it covers illegal occupation, fraud, egregious rent arrears, abandonment and anti-social behaviour. That is why we want to strike a fair balance between protecting the rights of landlords and of tenants.

Housing: New Homes

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Tuesday 8th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I can assure the House that all the new policies that have been announced recently, including permitted development rights, will be kept under review, and we will see what impact that has on housing supply.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, has the Minister seen Shelter’s latest analysis, which says that there is a backlog of 380,000 “phantom homes” with planning permission but not completed? Does he agree that the planning reforms, which may take as long as 18 months, will not be a quick-fix for this problem? Surely Oliver Letwin’s recommendation for a much greater mix of tenure is therefore suitable, and proper investment in social—not affordable—housing is where there is a market. There is desperation as well as demand, and that should be the urgent goal.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My Lords, I restate that there is a commitment to all forms of housing—all types and tenures—including social housing. That is one of the reasons why the borrowing cap on the housing revenue account was removed, so that we have seen a generation of councils build more homes than in the previous decade. I also point out that Sir Oliver found no evidence in his review that speculative land banking is part of the business model for major housebuilders.

Insolvency Act 1986 Part A1 Moratorium (Eligibility of Private Registered Providers) Regulations 2020

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Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, this statutory instrument is largely uncontroversial. These are technical amendments to ensure that there is no conflict in legislation relating to private providers of social housing through both the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The fact that it has been clarified that private registered providers have 28 days rather than 20 is welcome, although I share the questions of my noble friend Lord German about the feasibility of that time period. Anything that ensures that a provider of social housing has time to look into options for either rescue or restructure without the imposition of immediate creditor action, particularly in these challenging circumstances, is vital.

I asked the larger charities with legal expertise for whom social housing is a priority, such as Shelter and Crisis, for their view of this statutory instrument. They thought it looked sensible to offer registered social landlords this exemption, given that requirements already exist via the Regulator of Social Housing to restrict land disposal negotiations with creditors, thus enabling a focus on the potential sale to another social landlord. Again, though, I thought the description by my noble friend Lord German was particularly pertinent on this.

I noted that according to the Explanatory Memorandum, during a housing moratorium the consent of the Regulator of Social Housing is a necessary part of this process. I am also reassured that the website of the Regulator of Social Housing advises that moratoriums can be extended for a further 20 business days without creditor consent, or for a longer period with creditor consent, by filing relevant statements with the court. It can also be extended further on application to the court.

As we have already heard, the moratorium has an impact on a limited number of companies—currently 322, as described by both the noble Lord, Lord Wood, and my noble friend Lord German—but any social housing provider remains a critical part of the infrastructure, as explained by my noble friend Lady Kramer. That is particularly true given that year on year we are still dealing with a chronic shortfall in social housing provision —the current waiting list was 1.1 million even before the pandemic.

As the Minister set out in his opening remarks, financial stability is critical. This wide-ranging debate has therefore been useful in the usual way that detailed scrutiny provides and which this place fulfils. I look forward to hearing the answers, especially about where the £20 billion has gone missing—I am fascinated by that particular issue. Luke Hall, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for housing, said that private finance had grown from £48 billion to £100 billion. If there is a spare £20 billion knocking around, I have a very good suggestion as to where it should go.

Other noble Lords, particularly my noble friend Lady Kramer and the noble Lord, Lord Wood, asked about the cross-contamination issue or “coherence versus regime” issues. I think that when it comes to comments by my noble friend Lady Bowles, every Member of this House is always tempted to say: “What she said”.

I have only one question for the Minister today. Given the lack of controversy about and opposition to this statutory instrument, why is time allocated to this when a hugely controversial statutory instrument has been tabled too late for proper consideration—namely, the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) Coronavirus Rules 2020, which amends Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, which will resume possession proceedings for private renters from 24 August, as referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner? On Wednesday, Housing Minister Pincher, when pressed, confirmed that it will enable landlords to evict tenants from August onwards, with the courts unable to exercise discretion if a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice has been served.

Yet again, the private renter has been let down by this Government. The Housing Secretary’s promise in March, that

“no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home”,

has been abandoned. Stamp duty reductions have incentivised landlords to sell up, according to people contacting Generation Rent, and the housing benefit increase fell short of average rents in some areas, including London. Worse, the Government trailed this change in the rules as an eviction ban, but it is in fact the very opposite, as Generation Rent pointed out in its letter to Secretary of State Jenrick. This change has been introduced without guidance or scrutiny by Parliament. A Conservative manifesto commitment to scrap evictions could have gone through with the break-neck speed of other much more draconian measures the Government have introduced during this challenging period, but they did not do it.

Will the Minister explain why we are discussing this somewhat uncontroversial change when a substantive change for private renters is not discussed at all? If the Minister cannot answer that now, which I completely understand, I would appreciate a written response. It is estimated that 250,000 households are in rent arrears. Loss of a rented home is one of the main causes of homelessness, and the Government have just given the green light for 24 August to become known as “Evictions Day”, with 45,000 households in danger of being homeless. We will oppose that change in every way we possibly can, and I hope other noble Lords will support us.

That said, as I made clear in earlier comments, this statutory instrument holds no major concerns for us on these Benches.

Homelessness

Baroness Grender Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that, according to the Resolution Foundation, private renters are twice as likely as home owners to have struggled with housing costs due to the pandemic? Why, then, in last week’s financial Statement were home owners awarded a stamp duty tax cut worth £1 billion, in addition to all the other previous measures, while the 20 million renters got nothing?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I do not agree that renters have received nothing. The noble Baroness will be aware that we have strengthened the welfare safety net with a boost to the welfare system of over £6.5 billion, and that we have increased the local housing allowance rates to cover the lowest 30% of market rents. In addition, a budget of £180 million has been made available for local authorities to distribute in discretionary housing payments.

Social Housing

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Tuesday 16th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, it is important to recognise the points outlined by the noble Baroness about the stigma around social housing and that we do what we can to ensure that so-called “poor doors” are a thing of the past. In addition, we should continue to invest money in building affordable housing, including social rented housing, so that we have mixed and balanced communities. One of the points that is always raised is the need to ensure that there is no concentration of deprivation, and having a mixture of types and tenures of housing is critical for all communities.

[Baroness Grender (LD) [V]]

Does the Minister agree with the Conservative-majority housing Select Committee, which only last week stated that the building safety fund is an inadequate response to the current “cladding nightmare” and has too many restrictions, including against social housing providers? This White Paper was promised by Boris Johnson before the last election—originally, it was to be an urgent response to the Grenfell tragedy. Three years on, does the Minister accept that this is a promise which has not been met?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

Noble Lords will not be surprised to hear that I do not agree with that analysis. The sum of £1 billion to the building safety fund is to ensure that more high-rise buildings are remediated, and in particular to provide a recourse for those who cannot use any other means than public money. The provision of £1 billion is an unprecedented sum to discharge that, and of course we are delighted that so many people had already registered with the fund within several weeks of its opening.

Covid-19: Housing

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Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as a vice-president of the Local Government Association and as a trustee of the United St Saviour’s Charity, which owns two almshouses for the benefit of Southwark residents.

I pay tribute to everyone in the public and private sectors who is working to keep us safe, delivering our essential services and ensuring that our shops are stocked with food so that together we can get through this crisis. These are the real heroes of the crisis, and they come from all over the globe. Everyone deserves to live in a home that is warm, safe and dry.

I am supportive of the Statement but with the underpinning that keeping people safe must be paramount in the thinking as we move to this next phase of fighting the pandemic. There are great risks and we do not want to do anything that risks a second spike in infections.

Of course, there is much that is not in this Statement, so my first question for the Minister is: can we expect further updates from his department on other aspects of housing in the next few days? Furthermore, can the Minister tell the House what the next phase of fighting this pandemic will look like for homeless people? Will he take this opportunity to confirm that they will not be sent back on to the streets? What discussions have taken place with the Local Government Association and Crisis on this next phase of the pandemic battle for homeless people?

In respect of viewings of properties for sale or rent, what review mechanism will the Minister deploy and how long after the physical viewings are in progress will he deploy it—one month, two months, three months? What discussions have taken place between him or his officials and the Residential Landlords Association, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, the National Association of Estate Agents, Generation Rent and Shelter, among others, on the resumption of viewings and lettings and the safety both of those coming to visit and of those whose properties are being visited?

The ban on evictions has been most welcome, and the Government deserve credit for that. It was the right thing to do. However, at some point this ban will be lifted, either in June or at some future date if the ban is extended. Can the Minister tell the House what thinking is taking place in the department to avoid a large number of evictions being progressed? We cannot have this situation in future.

Where home sales or lettings go through, we will have people moving home and in many cases using the services of a professional removal company. Has there been any discussion with the British Association of Removers? In any industry, but particularly the removal industry, social distancing can be quite difficult to achieve. We need to be clear on the correct practice when people move home.

I am conscious that I have asked a number of questions. I hope that I will get full answers but accept that that might not be possible tonight. Brief comments would be helpful for all Members, but if the Minister would agree to follow up any comments he makes on the points I have made with a letter to all Members and to place it in the Library of the House, that would be very helpful.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for taking questions on this Statement made by the Secretary of State last Wednesday on the restarting of the construction industry. It came as a surprise to many in that sector, given that they have continued to work throughout the lockdown. In the week before the Secretary of State’s announcement, only 37% of sites remained closed. For the smaller businesses that have been closed, this is often due to supply chain issues alone.

Given how keen the Government are to get all construction back to peak levels, can the Minister reassure us that safety in that sector is as important as in any other? What steps are being taken to ensure that low-skill workers in construction are safe and social distancing? The latest ONS figures suggest that construction worker death rates from coronavirus are double those of health workers. You have only to take your daily exercise past most building sites to see a frightening absence of social distancing. When the Minister answered a question from my noble friend Lord Stunell on 14 May, he committed to provide appropriate guidance to ensure availability of PPE and testing for the construction sector. What progress has he made? Can all construction workers now get testing?

Can the Government reassure us that all types of tenure are equal? With this Government it sometimes appears that some types of tenure are more equal than others. The Housing Secretary’s Statement talks at length about the importance of a home, but the only policies available are for owner-occupiers. People who rent need to know that their home is secure and safe. They need that assurance now. Will the Government agree to extend the current change on Section 21 evictions to give renters the security they need over a long-term period in advance of the 1 June deadline? Why did the Secretary of State not use the opportunity in this Statement to do just that? Will the Minister agree to not only maintain the local housing allowance at the current 30% of market rent but consider increasing it to help those most in need?

Is the Minister aware of Shelter projections that there will be a £55 million a month gap in rent without additional government support because universal credit is too low to cover average local rents? Does the Minister accept that the greatest danger for people on low incomes is that their rent arrears will accrue, driving them into a level of debt from which it would be hard to recover? Will the Government perhaps learn from other European nations and offer low-interest loans to help tenants through this unprecedented period?

The problems of leaseholders with extortionate ground rents have not suddenly disappeared with the lockdown. What progress is there in tackling this? Where are the shelved plans for greater protections for property guardians who are struggling to socially distance in often inadequate accommodation?

The achievement of getting as many rough sleepers as possible sheltered during this period is very significant. Anyone who has had the privilege of working with Dame Louise Casey will know how able she is at making the impossible possible, but this was also achieved thanks to monumental efforts by local authorities. Those same local authorities now need support to build social housing in sufficient numbers. Will the Minister listen to the LGA when it asks the Government to allow councils at least five years to spend right-to-buy receipts? Will they also allow councils to keep 100% of receipts?

Will the Government increase investment in Housing First projects to ensure that we do not return to the shameful levels of rough sleeping before the pandemic? Will the Government also support local authorities in their attempts to house people who have no recourse to public funds? This global problem requires a global response. Last week, the Secretary of State left responsibility for this issue firmly in the hands of local authorities. He charged them to act with humanity and compassion. Does the Minister agree that the Government should do the same?

[The Minister of State, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Greenhalgh) (Con)]

A number of questions have been put; where I do not know the answer, I shall write to the noble Baroness or the noble Lord and place a copy of my response in the Library.

I shall start with the questions put by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy. A ban on evictions is in place, which we shall review in due course once it is released. We have engaged with a number of stakeholders regarding rough sleeping. It is incredible that 90% of rough sleepers—some 5,400 people—have been taken off the streets. Engagement is happening with local authorities, charities and, as I know, the Local Government Association, to come up with a big, bold plan to ensure that these people remain in secure and settled accommodation and do not just get handed back on to the streets.

The noble Baroness mentioned being able to resume construction safely. I note the ONS figures. We know that guidance has been issued on how to restart safely, including a charter on construction safety. Over 100 construction companies have signed that charter and we look to more to do the same. Obviously, the raised levels among construction workers are not necessarily down to construction; there could be other factors such as underlying conditions. We will continue to monitor that.

We assume that access to PPE should be no problem with routine construction. Construction workers have access to testing, as do other key workers, as we reopen the economy. I note the comments around low-interest rates to tenants. I shall write specifically on that to the noble Baroness. We need to recognise that restarting construction is a key part of reopening our economy. The Government recognise that between 600,000 and 900,000 people are employed in the housing sector alone and many millions in the wider construction sector; but we understand the need to do this safely.

Housing for the Homeless

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Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

This is a historic opportunity led by Dame Louise Casey. Evidence is already emerging that many of those rough sleepers who have been sheltered were originally in the less scrupulous parts of the private rented sector, which means that a further increase in the LHA, lifting of the benefit cap and a permanent end to Section 21 evictions are all critical to ensuring there is no return to widespread rough sleeping. I hope that the Government will support the Generation Rent campaign #ventyourrent to give voice to those people. Can the Minister give an undertaking that no one will be forced out of their emergency accommodation without an offer of suitable housing? Will the Government increase support for housing first and to local authorities?

This pandemic is global and we therefore need to treat it as such. What will the Government do about the rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds? If ever a moment called for a good Samaritan approach, it is now.