By Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot CLP (personal capacity)
Two recent TV programmes have shown the horrors of housing in the private-rented sector and the awfully precarious existence of millions of families just trying to keep a roof over their heads.
Panorama, the BBC’s flagship documentary programme, recently highlighted the scandalous behaviour of some landlords in the private sector. The reporter, Richard Bilton, interviewed Fergus and Judith Wilson who own around 300 properties in Kent. They are planning to retire and intend to evict many of their tenants and sell the properties at auction.
Landlords have the power to evict tenants without any reason. They can evoke a ‘no fault’ notice, called ‘section 21’ and evict tenants within 2 months. The private-rented sector has grown from five to ten million people over the last 20 years. As Bilton reports, the security of millions are at the mercy of private landlords.
The multi-millionaire Wilsons are particularly unpleasant landlords who brag about the power they hold over their tenants. They refuse those that are on benefits, zero-hours contracts and even people that he described as ‘of colour’. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission sought an injunction for discrimination over their conduct.
The Wilsons also evict tenants who complain about rents increases or the poor condition of properties. It is estimated that around 45,000 tenants have been victims of such ‘revenge evictions’. Most leases are for only six months and terminations in the private rented sector is the main cause of homelessness.
The Wilson’s empire began in 1991, when they bought a property under the ‘buy to let’ scheme, for £35,000, which they then sold on for ten times that value at auction. These creatures have ruined lives and profited from it.
Another TV broadcaster, Channel 4, in their Dispatches programme, investigated ‘New Landlords from Hell’. They reveal the shocking conditions that some tenants have experienced from one of the largest housing associations, Sanctuary Housing, which own 85,000 properties throughout the UK. A report concluded that 11% of their properties were below a reasonable standard and 5% have damp.
The Dispatches presenter interviewed a family from Brixham in South Devon who have a toddler who suffers from breathing problems. Their home has damp with black mould and despite a report from the local Environmental Health, Sanctuary failed to make the necessary repairs. The family believe that the spores from the mould are a contributory factor for their child’s respiratory problems.
Housing not fit for animal livestock
Their local ward councillor stated that Torbay Council had no powers over housing associations and commented that he was a farmer who “wouldn’t let his livestock live in such conditions”. Nationally, there have been over 200 complaints about the condition of Sanctuary Homes and delays in repairs. The presenter pointed out that this company had made a surplus of over £198 million and could easily sort out these problems.
As a former housing association boss stated, the ethos of many housing associations has changed from being not-for-profit charities supplying social housing, to something more akin to private property developers. He believed that it began with the 1988 Housing Act, which allowed housing associations to borrow privately in order to build affordable homes. This is also reflected in the salaries of the bosses, the CEO of Sanctuary, for example, receiving a annual salary of £365,000.
The presenter concluded that the Independent regulator of housing associations should be focused on the needs of tenants to force associations to return to the ideas on which they were founded. In reality, most of their housing stock were transferred from councils. Labour must bring these properties back under the ownership and control of local government. This is the only policy that can ensure tenants’ needs are guaranteed. Labour must ensure security of tenure and rent controls. Most of all, it must build council homes for everyone in need.
April 1, 2019
