Social housing tenants will be able to move homes more freely, says Shapps

4 Aug 10
People living in social housing in England will be able to swap homes more easily with other tenants anywhere in the country, the government announced today
By Lucy Phillips

4 August 2010

People living in social housing in England will be able to swap homes more easily with other tenants anywhere in the country, the government announced today.

Housing minister GrantShapps said all 8 million social housing tenants would be given a ‘freedom pass’ to make it more straightforward to exchange homes if they wanted to move for work, family or any other reason. A new National Affordable Home Swap Scheme would upgrade current systems to give tenants details of every council and housing association occupier looking to swap homes across the country, he said.

Shapps said the current process was ‘an uphill battle’ for those already in social housing. If they needed to move, they were ‘pitted against’ record waiting lists of new tenants, often leaving them stuck in unsuitable accommodation. He claimed that more than 250,000 households live in overcrowded council accommodation and some 430,000 are unable to downsize from larger properties they no longer need.

Shapps added: ‘As we work to tackle the record budget deficit, we must ensure vulnerable people benefit from, but don’t become trapped by, the safety net that social housing provides.’

But shadow housing minister John Healey said the new swapping scheme was ‘no substitute’ for building new housing. ‘I also fear these measures could be taken as a green light by some to pressure people out of their homes,’ he added.

The announcement came after David Cameron said yesterday that council homes should no longer be given to people ‘for life’. Instead, they should be allocated on a fixed-term basis, encouraging people to move into private housing if they find good jobs and earn more money. The proposals would apply to new tenants only.

The prime minister, speaking at a local eventin Birmingham as part of his ‘PM Direct’ tour, admitted there was likely to be a ‘big argument’ over the plans.

The National HousingFederation said very few people living in social housing were earning the sort of salaries that would enable them to rent in the private sector, with just 10% of households with annual incomes of more than £20,900.

Helen Williams, assistant director at the NHF, added: ‘It may be for some people that renting from a council or housing association for the short term could be the base from which they can build up to buy or rent in the private rented sector. But there are lots of issues to consider, like the impact on people’s behaviour if they thought they might have to move if they bettered their circumstances.’

Gary Porter, chair of the Local Government Association’s environment board, said: ‘It is right there should be a discussion about how there can be more local flexibility for councils to help tenants achieve their aspirations and to make best use of social housing stock when it is under huge pressure. However, that can only be a partial solution when demand for council housing massively outstrips supply.’
 

 

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