Private landlords should be given tax
breaks in order to relieve the housing crisis, London Councils has urged.
The
capital's councils claim that the withdrawal of private landlords from the
social housing market has forced them to put more homeless people in bed and
breakfast accommodation.
The
latest figures show that nearly 900 families with children have been in put up
in B&Bs for longer than the six-week limit set out in government guidance.
According
to a survey of London housing directors, the number of private landlords
willing to let to homeless people on benefits has dropped by around 20 percent
in the last year.
Now
London Councils - the umbrella organisation that represents the Capital's 33
local authorities - has started discussions with the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) about a programme of action to bring private
landlords back into the social housing market.
These
include tax relief for landlords to increase the supply of private sector
rented properties, improvements to government schemes to bring empty private
properties back into the market and better joint working between government
departments and local government.
Private
landlords no longer need to rent to homeless people on benefits because the
lack of housing in the capital promises both continually rising rents and a
ready supply of tenants in employment.
Landlords
also see employed tenants as more secure compared to tenants on benefits.
London
Councils' Executive Member for Housing, Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, said:
"While we need to address the long term housing shortage in London, we
need to act now to tackle the acute housing crisis in the capital - primarily
caused by the chronic shortage of temporary accommodation available for
councils to place homeless Londoners.
"While
local authorities have been doing their very best to mitigate the impacts, we
need a concerted effort by central government departments and councils to take
action to ensure a supply of good quality, affordable homes in the private
rented sector.
"Londoners
deserve to have safe, affordable and secure places to live. We hope to work
alongside the government to make this a reality."Click here to see the original article: "'Give Private Landlords Tax Relief to Relieve Homelessness Crisis'"
