Housing and Planning Bill

The Housing and Planning Bill will drastically reduce the amount of affordable homes available in the UK, with the loss of 180,000 such homes predicted in the next five years. This Government has not committed to like for like replacements for these homes. Unfortunately this Bill was passed due to the Government's majority.

I still have some major concerns, in particular extending the right-to-buy to housing associations. The right-to-buy policy will be financed by Councils being forced to sell their most valuable homes when they become vacant. For every home sold to an existing housing association tenant, Councils will have to fund the £100,000 cost reduction.

In Hackney, more than 700 Council homes could be sold off as soon as they are built and before anyone has lived in them.

I do not support any reduction in social housing in Hackney. My surgeries are the busiest they've been in the last 10 years with residents desperate for a home but not able to secure one. By forcing the sale of urgently needed low-rent Council homes out of areas where they are most needed and where waiting lists are often the highest, the Government are removing the security that private renting does not provide.

This Bill will also see people on modest incomes threatened with the prospect of paying full market rent in their Council and housing association homes. Ending secure council tenancies means the Government is legislating to deny families a stable home.

I met with major housing associations in Hackney to discuss housing challenges, including how this Bill will impact their tenants in Hackney. We all agreed that the there is a housing crisis in Hackney and that more needs to be done to ensure that the housing stock is increased. I also challenged associations on their high cost shared ownership and private rented programmes.