Paul Burnham, Haringey Defend Council Housing and Martin Wicks, Labour Campaign for Council Housing are seeking support for their statement / petition.
“Rent convergence” is being presented like it’s a done deal. It means massive rent increases for those in social rented and council housing, and higher benefit bills for the government. We must oppose it.
STATEMENT
We are asking tenants organisations and housing campaigns to support the statement which opposes ‘social rent convergence’ and 10 years of CPI+1% rent increases, for council and housing association tenants.
As the statement says this will impoverish already poor tenants who do not have all their rent covered by housing benefit. We will need to campaign for these policies to be overturned. Making tenants pay for the under-funding of council housing revenue accounts, and the indebtedness and commercialisation of housing associations, is a substitute for adequate central government funding. These increases are guaranteed to drive up rent arrears.
The government’s own impact assessment says that a £2 a week convergence payment will cost the Exchequer £4 billion in increased benefit payments. That makes no sense.
We are looking at the possibility of a meeting on this theme, in the House of Commons in November. In October we will know what the September inflation figure is, which will determine next April’s maximum rent increase.
If you support this statement, please add your organisation’s name to the statement/petition.
Paul Burnham, Haringey Defend Council Housing
Martin Wicks, Labour Campaign for Council Housing