Today, 2nd February, the Government has announced its
levelling up plan which aims to close the gap between the rich
and poor parts of the country. As part of the plan the Government
has announced that housing will be included as one of the 12
missions to level up the UK with policies underpinning this
involving:
- Ensuring that all private rented homes must meet a minimum
standard
- Scrapping section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions
- Consult on introducing a landlord register to tackle
substandard rental properties
- A commitment to build more genuinely affordable housing and
deliver a Social Housing Regulation Bill
Responding to the announcement Matt Downie, Chief
Executive of Crisis, said: “It’s welcome to see
that housing has a seat at the table in the Government’s ambition
to level up the country over the next ten years, alongside
commitments to provide more genuinely affordable social housing,
scrap no fault evictions and introduce a landlord register. We
know that good jobs and improving wages are also key to people
keeping a roof over their head so it’s positive to see emphasis
being placed on this as well.
“For too long now families have had to languish on ever growing
council house waiting lists, while renters have had to put up
with paying extortionate rents on squalid homes because they
can’t speak out for fear of eviction. We look forward to
seeing the details to address this imbalance, and are
pleased to see that it will span across all
departments.
“The Government must make providing housing that people
can afford the backbone of levelling up, which must include
a step change in the delivery of social rent housing and the
funding needed to turn these commitments into reality. Only this
will deliver the change we need to see communities thrive, and
an end to homelessness for good.”
