Housing and Planning Bill

Lord Adebowale Excerpts

Tuesday 26th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Adebowale (CB)]

My Lords, in contributing to this debate, first, I state that I am chief executive of Turning Point, a health and social care organisation supporting people with complex needs. In many cases this includes supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society to find suitable housing. Turning Point is also a registered social landlord. I am also chair of the London Fairness Commission, which is due to report this spring. Housing is one of the key issues reported to us by Londoners in their definition of fairness, as opposed to the definition of Ministers and politicians. I started my career in housing. I worked on several estates and set up housing co-ops. I have worked with vulnerable people in need of housing. Indeed, my parents experienced many of the privations mentioned in the excellent maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill.

As wide-ranging and controversial as the Bill is, I want to focus on three key areas that impact on the people who fall at the sharp end of the inverse care law; that is, the law that states that people in most need of housing and social care are those who tend to get it the least. I want to talk about the challenges facing housing co-ops; the right to buy being extended to housing association tenants and how this will affect people with complex needs trying to obtain housing; and, finally, lifetime tenancies. I should point out that Turning Point did not sign the voluntary agreement letter between housing associations and the Government. I talked to our clients and tenants, who told me in resoundingly clear terms that the answer is no and that they did not want to sign the letter. We should not assume that everyone wants to own their own home. Most people aspire to an affordable, stable home in a stable community.

Housing co-ops are small businesses providing sorely needed social housing on a sustainable basis at little cost to the state. Fully mutual housing co-operatives are fundamentally different from housing associations in that they are democratic bodies where all tenants are also voting members of the body that controls their housing—the very definition of being all in it together. Based on my experience, I am particularly concerned that the Bill has not fully considered the potential impact that legislation would have on housing co-operatives. Given current proposals, co-ops could face increased rent arrears and legal costs. Proposals could also lead to overoccupation of tenants and negatively impact on their ability and motivation to work by reducing their earnings or working hours, as stated in an excellent paper written by Richard Stubbs, who has been very much involved in housing co-ops, for the Longlife Housing Co-operative.

The 1% per annum rent decrease announced in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will also cut the annual income of co-ops, which could mean that they will have to find ways to cover the shortfall without reducing what is spent on maintaining much-needed housing. The Longlife Housing Co-operative has calculated that the 1% reduction, disregarding inflation, will reduce annual income by almost £15,000 per annum. That might not seem like a lot of money but in the budgets available to housing co-ops it could add up to a substantial amount. Over 20 years, it would be about £500,000. Co-ops could therefore be rendered inoperable and measures would likely force their failure, which would be detrimental to the sector. Will the Minister agree to meet with a representative from the housing co-operative movement to discuss their concerns in more detail?

Clauses 56 to 61 concern right to buy. In addition to concerns around co-ops, many are worried about what this Bill means for people, particularly first-time buyers and people on low incomes, as the housing stock fails to keep up with demand. On 22 October 2015, I asked the Minister whether there will be a timeframe within which housing associations are expected to build these extra homes and whether there would be a minimum guarantee of rented accommodation built to support individuals suffering from ongoing health issues.

This is important because the people I hear from, both through the London Fairness Commission and those with mental health conditions, and people recovering from substance misuse supported by Turning Point, tell me that they need safe, secure and reliable housing to continue their recovery. However, they are finding that there is a severe shortage of housing available to them. Indeed, the Office for National Statistics showed that there is already a shortfall of 141,000 homes, with Shelter suggesting that the Bill will lead to 180,000 fewer affordable homes to rent and buy over five years. As of 2 November 2015, according to DCLG figures, over the past three years 9,025 homes have been sold under right to buy in London, and there have been 1,310 starts on replacement.

In response to my Question, the Minister said that replacement homes will be delivered as quickly as possible. While aiming for replacement within two years, the default position is that housing associations will have flexibility to replace homes within a three-year period. This really concerns me, because my definition of “as quickly as possible”, the Government’s definition and that of the individual already having to leave a residential mental health service or other service, but who is unable to because of lack of housing, are very different. My hope therefore is that the Bill will be clear on what “as quickly as possible” means and will look to speed up this process so that people can move on effectively with their lives. It is also important that housing stock being sold off is replaced like for like and in a similar area. The noble Lord, Lord Kerslake, also made it clear that the maths do not quite add up.

Housing is a critical foundation across the life course, both physically and psychologically. While other aspects of our lives may change, the need for safe and secure housing does not. Compared with the general population, people with mental health conditions are one-and-a-half times more likely to live in rented housing, with higher levels of uncertainty about how long they can remain in their current home. Mental ill health is frequently cited as a reason for tenancy breakdown, and having settled housing and accommodation is known to have a positive impact on our mental health. This is critical and provides the basis to enable people to recover, receive support or return to work—or, post-recovery, to enable the individual to continue to live well, work and become part of community life.

I shall illustrate this with a short case study. Lee is 47 and has experienced various mental health issues as a result of multiple redundancies, several house moves, family breakdown and subsequent drug misuse. He is a qualified truck driver, has a degree in engineering and has worked for large and reputable companies such as BT and Bosch. He also has two teenage children with whom he has minimal contact as they live 15 to 30 miles away from him. Lee has been a resident of one of Turning Point’s services for almost two years, and although he has applied for housing four times, he has had his application rejected four times. He has been told that, because he is deemed a temporary resident by the local authority, he lacks sufficient ties in the local area to be granted housing, even though he has lived there for almost two years now. He has also been open and frank about his situation and his past, but this seems to have tarnished his image and chances of being able to move on and start his life again. Under various proposals in the Bill, including the right to buy, the forced sale of vacant high-value houses and, to an extent, the withdrawal of lifetime tenancies, Lee’s chances of securing a home, gaining confidence, independence and employment and starting to think about moving on with his life will be even slimmer.

As is the case with anything involving welfare, in some areas the proportion of council houses likely to be sold is much higher due to more deprived areas being more reliant on social housing. It is quite likely that starter homes will be built in place of new affordable council or housing association homes, and for the first time since the Second World War there is no national investment programme to build such housing. It is also important that housing associations are required to consult regularly with their local councils on the impact of the extended right to buy and any potential deregulation package. This would help to ensure that housing associations and councils manage their housing assets and invest in new and existing homes to meet the needs of local conditions and their tenants, including the most vulnerable.

How the scheme plays out will affect local authorities and their ability to plan for meeting “affordable” needs and to provide replacement stock in their local plans by early 2017. The Bill does allow for negotiation between the Government and individual local authorities on the payments and on retention of receipts, and for certain properties to be exempt. However, it must also enable councils to retain sufficient funds to replace lost council homes in the local area to meet local housing need.

Finally, on lifetime tenancies, the Government spoke recently about building stronger families and recognising the importance of community cohesion. Having such strict regulations over the amount of time residents can or cannot live in a property will have the effect of damaging these very communities. The threat of limited-term tenancies removes one of the last remaining secure types of housing available to people who cannot afford home ownership. It will leave people at the mercy of the insecurities of spiralling private rents and sky-high housing prices. How can people like Lee, for example, form real, tangible links with their place of residence, and therefore their community, if this is liable to change every two to five years? In response to the excellent speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Eaton, I wonder whether she might consider Lee to be a deserving case.

We therefore need a housing Bill that supports stability, recovery, progress and independence, not only for those who are currently working and able, although it is important to support them, too; we need a Bill that is also ambitious enough to support a future population that could be working and able to work if they only had access to secure housing.