Defend Council Housing: Investment not ownership needed

Tuesday, 20 Feb 2007 09:00
Defend Council Housing (DCH) has called on the government to invest in improvement to social housing rather than threaten the secure tenancies of residents.

A government-commissioned review into the future of council housing by John Hills will be published this morning and could recommend that tenants lose their right to life tenacies.

DCH chair Alan Walter said: “The case for investing in decent, affordable, secure and accountable council housing is stronger than ever. The private housing market is failing millions today as it always has."

And he warned that "starving council estates of investment; forcing tenants to give up our secure, life long tenancies; , and siphoning money out of tenants rents to subsidise shared ownership schemes is ideological dogma that solves nothing but will antagonise millions of council tenants and those on council housing waiting lists".

DCH warned introducing a time limit in tenancies or means testing for residents "would turn our estates into massive hostels with a transient, not sustainable, community".

John Hills gives his views on council housing

Independent review urges major rethink on social housing -A report by Professor John Hills, commissioned by the government and published today, calls for urgent debate and major reforms to ensure social housing meets its aims. ..why not listen to the tenants instead!