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Private Tenants

I am very aware of the problems that private tenants face, especially with regards to deposits being unreasonably held by landlords.

The Labour Government has in fact been working since 1998 to bring in a tenancy deposit scheme. The Government identified that there are three main problems facing private tenants: disputed and unreasonable claims for damage and cleaning to properties; landlords using deposits as part of their working capital and small claims court processes being lengthy and not producing the desired result. In 2000, the Government launched a trial tenancy deposit scheme in five areas. Participating landlords had two choices – to keep the deposit during the tenancy and take out insurance to guarantee repayment should there be a dispute, or to place the deposit in an account at the Nationwide and agree to release the money when both tenant and landlord had signed a withdrawal form. Independent adjudicators appointed by the Housing Ombudsman were to resolve disputes.

Unfortunately, take up of the pilot scheme was poor, which led the Government to conclude that the scheme could not be self financing. However, the Government is committed to addressing this issue, and the Housing Act 2004 included provisions to enable tenancy deposit schemes to be set up. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister advertised last month for organisations to run the proposed tenancy deposit schemes from October 2006. The ODPM is also going to consult on the issue, in particular the information requirements placed on tenants and landlords at the beginning and end of a tenancy. I believe that it is vital for a scheme to be in place, as private tenants have suffered for too long, and do require some legislative protection.

First Time Buyers

First time buyers face many difficulties in the present housing climate. Earlier this year, Labour announced a new First Time Buyers Initiative to help over 15,000 first time buyers who could not own or part own a home without extra help. Surplus public sector land will be used for the homes, and the price the buyer pays will meet the building costs. This builds on the Government's Key Worker Scheme which provides housing assistance through new build schemes and equity loans to key workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers. You can find out more information about the Key Worker Scheme here.

The Labour government now calls for a high proportion of housing in new developments to be in an affordable price range both for rent and purchase. In Wandsworth, the Labour Group are campaigning to increase the number of affordable homes required to be built as part of any major new development – to at least 50% or higher.

Social Housing

There is a huge housing shortage in Wandsworth, and the Conservative Council’s sales policy has caused real problems – the average waiting time for a Council property last year was 21.6 months. The Labour group on the Council are campaigning for a radical overhaul of the Council’s planning policies in respect of housing – every Wandsworth resident has the right to a secure home that meets their current needs and a reasonable chance to be able to move home should those needs change. Wandsworth council house rents are the second highest in London and this is unacceptable. As a Councilllor, I played a key role in the provision of affordable housing (which led to Wandsworth Council being forced to include in their Unitary Development Plan (UDP) for the first time, a requirement for developers to provide affordable housing).

Nationally, Labour has tripled funding for council housing to £2.5 billion since 1997. The Labour Government is also committed to increasing the annual supply of new social homes by 50% by 2008, and giving local authorities the ability to start building homes again and bring empty homes back into use.

Labour is planning to introduce a Homebuy scheme offering up to 300,000 council and housing association tenants the opportunity to buy part of their home, increasing their equity over time if they wish.

In 2002, the Labour Government renewed its commitment to making all social housing 'decent' by 2010.

A decent home is one that is wind and weather tight, warm and has modern facilities. The Government recognises that many councils do not have the resources to bring their housing stock up to the decent homes standard, so there are various options to help local authorities obtain additional financial investment.

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