Notice of Motion

Labour Group AND GREEN GROUP

Housing & Evictions

The Council notes lifting the moratorium on evictions will unleash an avalanche of homelessness, some of those made homeless are likely to end up on the streets replacing those rough sleepers housed at the start of the pandemic, setting back goals of ending rough sleeping by 2027.

The Council therefore asks:

That the Chief Executive writes to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, calling for:

1) the moratorium on evictions to be extended beyond September allowing for consideration of additional reforms to prevent people losing their homes,

2) the benefit cap to be lifted by the same amount that Local Housing Allowances have increased,

3) the bringing forward of the abolition of s21 evictions,

4) the following additional reforms are considered by government:

a)   moving towards a Living rent cap at 33% of household income,

b)   giving local councils the power to set local rent controls,

c)   capping rents at local housing allowance during the pandemic,

d)   ending no fault evictions and placing a duty on landlords and councils to work to resolve rent arrears issues and requiring these efforts be demonstrated to a court before an eviction is granted for rent arrears.

The Council further requests that officers:

· continue to work positively with tenant groups and representative organisations and raise awareness of them,

• ensure no evictions of tenants for arrears arising during the crisis period 23^rd March – 5^th July 2020;

· finalise the establishment of the Ethical Lettings Agency and ethical Landlords Charter.

Proposed by: Cllr Childs                                       Seconded by: Cllr Gibson

Supporting Information:

The Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council has written jointly with the Leader of the Opposition to government calling for a national, long-term solution to homelessness and rough sleeping. We have laid out our proposed solutions including adopting the Housing First model nationally with funding provided for addiction rehab, wrap-around support and specialist furniture adapted for high-risk management and capital funding for the purchase of buildings. We have also called for the government to introduce a ‘living rent’ cap for landlords and to introduce legislation to give local authorities rent control powers in high rent areas like Brighton & Hove. We also asked government to extend to extend the time local authorities have to use Right to Buy receipts from three to at least five years, to allow us to increase the percentage of Right to Buy receipts we can use on new homes and to allow us to retain 100% of those receipts. We called for government funding to help sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness and advocated the extension of the moratorium on evictions. We also urged government to raise the £3500 cap on what landlords are required to spend upgrading their properties to the required EPC level and provide grants or loans to help them achieve this. This NOM aims to build on this lobbying work and emphasise to government the urgency with which action is required.