Housing crisis (From The Argus)

Housing crisis

4:39pm Thursday 15th July 2010 in

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The coalition Government’s housing benefit proposals overwhelmingly penalise the poor.

Thousands of people will be made homeless as cuts to housing benefit combine with increased repossessions and higher unemployment.

In Brighton Pavilion, you have to earn more than £50,000 a year to afford to buy an average-priced house. No wonder, then, there are nearly 10,000 households on the waiting list for affordable housing in Brighton and Hove.

At current letting rates, that will take more than eight years to clear. In Brighton and Hove, 21% of homes are in the private rented sector, much higher than average, and my surgeries are full of people who are already struggling to pay rent, and to find alternatives to cramped, overcrowded and overpriced accommodation.

What we need now is to bring empty properties back into use (Coun Rachel Fryer had a recent success with this) and begin a major programme of investment in affordable green homes.

What we do not need are cuts that will harm the most vulnerable in our society and make our housing crisis worse.

Caroline Lucas, MP, Brighton Pavilion

Comments(5)

Dwayno says...
8:36pm Thu 15 Jul 10

Thank the previous government for preventing a property crash that was so desperately needed by keeping the Market artificially high. It may not be pretty and it will get worse, but the coalition actually seem determined to fix this country rather than let it go bust. Pass my regards to them next time your in the house of commons.