Response - Council housing: a real future

With an estimated funding backlog of £3.2 billion to improve sub-standard council housing, 1.8 million households waiting for a council home, over a million children growing up in overcrowded conditions and millions of households struggling to meet their housing costs, it is essential that reform of the council housing finance system – along with this autumn’s Comprehensive Spending Review – provides councils with sufficient funds to:

§  bring all homes up to current standards or repair and safety,

§  meet future repair and modernisation needs,

§  avoid unaffordable or unexpected rent rises to their tenants,

§  build desperately needed new homes and

§  remain financially viable as council landlords so that tenants’ homes are not at risk.