SubtleBlade, to AirBNB
@SubtleBlade@mastodon.scot avatar

and .com allowing illegal social housing sublets, say councils

providers claim platforms are refusing to cooperate with requests to remove illegally listed
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/26/airbnb-and-bookingcom-allowing-social-housing-sublets-say-english-councils

Wen, to UKpolitics
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

Maunderings

With the recent conversations about the Royal Family (Britain unfortunately) I was, with a little time to kill having to work on a document this Saturday morning, pondering the term ‘Council Tenant’. It seems ridiculous to have had to add ‘that is perfectly ok’ to my comments.

But Thatcher and the Tories managed to make it necessary - just like using public transport, it has become in many minds something to be pitied.

It is NOT.

AutisticMumTo3, to london
@AutisticMumTo3@leftist.network avatar
Wen, (edited ) to Norwich
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

Award-winning may be sold off under

Have the Tories learn anything, do they simply not care, or do they think the buyers will vote for them?

More social housing is sold of in England, a continuation of Thatcher’s ruinous policies. Will Starmer retain it?

(Link to cached document, no paywall) http://archive.today/GLUAi

Wen,
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

Just a reminder. Scotland and Wales removed this STUPID policy years ago. An easy example of sanity being brought to bear with devolved assemblies. Roll on independence.

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

That some families in London have been in temporary accommodation for over a decade is a sad but clear indicator of the costs of a failure to (re)build the country's social housing... there is an appalling impact on children's development, but also a massive cost to Council budgets, money that would have been better spent on building homes.

Of course, the private providers of accommodation are laughing all the way the bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/09/homeless-kids-england-childhood-temporary-housing-families

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

For the occupants, a rental home is a home.... for their landlord its an asset that they want to be able to maximise the rent on (by kicking out current tenants & upping the rent), or be able to sell quickly when they want to realise some capital.

The problem is that for the landlord this looks like good capital management, but for the (erstwhile) tenant it can often be the prelude to .

With adequate supply of this would not be the problem it has become....

ChrisMayLA6, to DigitalNomadHub
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

A new Shelter/National Housing Federation report argues that investing around £12bn on building 90,000 units would see a positive return within 11 years.

Getting people into homes would reduce benefits costs, save the money & more likely see those in proper homes (back) in . It would also, of course, boost employment in construction & associated trades.

The paradox for UK is while a long time horizon is acceptable for , for homes, not so much!

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

How many homes does the UK need to build to address the ?

To be clear, of course, that not all the crisis is just about supply... there are issues of provision & wrapped up in the crisis too, so more building has to be part of a bigger strategic response.

But, nonetheless looking at international comparisons of dwellings per capita will give us some indication.

And the shortfall looks to be growing against international (OECD country) norms!

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Aha, so the crisis in isn't about the number of homes, its about the 'rule-breakers' disrupting an otherwise working system..... welcome (back) to the world of policy where there are only two types of person the worthy & the unworthy.

Like 'benefits cheats' a small minority are going to be used as a weapon to continue to ensure provision is both limited & callous!

Its just all so predictable!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-social-housing-reforms-to-crack-down-on-rule-breakers

AutisticMumTo3, to london
@AutisticMumTo3@leftist.network avatar
ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

After 15 Ministers since 2010, and the chaos of housing 'policy' is it any surprise that in a survey of 50 major housebuilding firms suggests around 70% now favour a Labour Govt. after the next election.

The Q.is whether this merely means that the private sector housing lobby think they have Labour stitched up... because if they do, its unlikely they'll be supporting a massive expansion of

Equally it may be atop that NIMBYs have less sway with ...

ChrisMayLA6, to Vienna
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

There are at least two clear reasons why is so often voted one of the most liveable cities in the world:

  1. the defining logic of the city is: 'is this good for children' in stead of 'is this good for property developers'?

  2. When awarding planning permission Vienna's planners requires 50% 'affordable housing' in all new urban developments, not the much lower ratios elsewhere.

Our & our might look different with such ideas in place.

h/t Kirsty Lang (FT)

petpet, to home
@petpet@pixelfed.social avatar
SubtleBlade, to Vienna
@SubtleBlade@mastodon.scot avatar

The secret: how became the world’s most

In the Austrian capital, renters pay a third of what their counterparts do in , or . How is it possible?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/jan/10/the-social-housing-secret-how-vienna-became-the-worlds-most-livable-city

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

We can agree that the is being made worse by the lack of affordable & ..... so the news that Housing Associations are planning to reduce their spend in 2024 rather than increasing construction is worrying;

in the decade to 2022, there was a net loss of 165,000 social homes; now is not the time to scaling back construction.

The HA's are reducing consgtruction in the face of , high & required repairs.

State on homes spending is needed, now!

ChrisMayLA6, to landlords
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

The problems with a lack of are pretty clear, but another aspect of concern is the contempt with which some social treat their tenants and the lack of interest the Housing Ombudsman has in sanctioning those landlords.

What social housing needs is both more building, but also a social shift away from contempt for those who inhabit these homes.

This is just another aspect of the continued divisive role of in British

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/31/uk-housing-ombudsman-failing-to-fine-housing-associations-for-mould

ChrisMayLA6, to politics
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

is all about choices:

The have chosen to poor money into a failing policy & funnel much of the money to to deport a small number of .... in an inhumane & callous set of policies.

meanwhile they have also presided over net-losses of in the midst of a ....

as @openDemocracy point out, the money going to Rwanda might have been better spent on social housing!

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/rwanda-deal-home-office-social-housing-400m/

evelyntheriault, to Montreal
@evelyntheriault@canada.masto.host avatar

This is the mural Chez Nous by Québec artist Cecile Gariepy which you can catch just a glimpse of when you run along the Decarie Expressway.
I love this mural for itself but also for the fact that it celebrates the building of social housing.

ChrisMayLA6, to DadBin
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Shelter expects that the numbers over this will be up by around 14% year-on-year (and above 300,000 of which almost half are ).

Once again, we are seeing the impact of a lack of (as part of the more general ).

If we think we are a civilised country we need to do something about this, not blame the victims, not just hope that charities can pick up the slack, or that if we ignore it, it will go away.

MORE SOCIAL HOUSING IS VITAL!

ChrisMayLA6, to Women
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

We know face violence (physical, emotional & 'epistemic') in regular society through , discrimination & violent , but how much worse is this for women who find themselves .

Nicci Gerrard sets this clearly out today & we should not look away, or think nothing can be done;

we need more women's hostels for this fleeing violence, we need more for those society is abusing in one way or another, we need to act!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/09/homeless-women-invisible-not-because-dont-exist-hiding-from-danger-key-18

ChrisMayLA6, to london
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

A tale of two cities (countries):

In , apartment prices have quadrupled since 2000; response: the city is building with an aspiration that by 2035, 30% (!!) of all housing within the ring road will be social housing.

In , equally housing has become unaffordable to anyone on normal wages, but what does the UK Govt. do? Stoke house prices with 'help' for first time buyers & continues constraining any building of social housing.

Its just nuts (here, not there)

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

So has told the Torygraph that Thatcher 'set loose our natural entrepreneurialism' was a PM who effected meaningful change to the UK.

I guess this is a pretty clear pitch to voters, but if he really believes this, the cost in support may not have been worth it.

From privatisation to , Thatcher's 'meaningful change' laid the foundations for the crises we now confront.

If he cannot see this, then those who've been warning about him are being proved right!

MediaActivist, to fediverse

It's time for a fresh with more folks coming into the ! Welcome; do make yourself at home. Oh, me? I’m a media activist with a twenty year history of writing for , , and websites, as well as making guerrilla , all with a focus on , holding screenings and running other events and initiatives in different parts of the world. I'm an unpaid carer for a partner with and we live together in in , UK. I'm a member of as well as the . I continue to write while working in and for organisations, but still live in poverty and my principle of "do no harm, take no shit" has cost me many connections and opportunities for income over the years, so suffice to say I welcome work offers, especially for worthwhile causes, as well as tips! For more info and links, check my profile. Thanks for reading!

msquebanh, to random
@msquebanh@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

council paved the way this week for a 40-unit ­permanent facility in , despite neighbourhood opposition.

With vague promises that “this will be better” than a previous temporary shelter at the site, council adopted new bylaws & amended the official for the project at 225 Russell St.

https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/victoria-oks-supportive-housing-facility-in-vic-west-slap-in-the-face-some-residents-say-8821713

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