Local people in Tyne & Wear are being unfairly prevented from accessing council or housing association homes, according to a report published by Shelter.
Shelter's Exclusions in Tyne & Wear report reveals that local councils and housing associations are operating unfair exclusion policies, banning people from the housing list for old or minor faults on their housing record.
The report found that minor rent arrears was often used as grounds for exclusion, with almost 40% of the households surveyed excluded for arrears of less than £500. Some of these arrears dated back to the 1980s. This keeps people homeless in temporary accommodation, trapped in bad housing, or forces them into expensive and insecure private rented homes.
The evidence in Shelter's report comes a full four years after a change in legislation designed to prevent unfair exclusions. The Homelessness Act 2002 contained measures to prevent local authorities from operating blanket exclusions from the housing waiting list. Instead, each case now has to be considered on its merits. Applicants can now only be excluded if they are shown to be unsuitable tenants, for example if they have high rent arrears or have committed anti-social behaviour. The behaviour in question must be severe enough that, if the applicant was already a tenant of the authority, it would be likely to result in a Court ordering an outright Possession Order against the tenant. The Housing Corporation has also made clear to housing associations that they should not be operating blanket exclusion policies.
Shelter is calling on councils and housing associations to urgently review their practices, and stop excluding tenants for minor past faults. Only current difficulties should be taken in account, and any steps to improve these should be recognised.
Fife Council became the fifth Scottish local authority to successfully apply for the Right to Buy to be suspended in part of their area. The suspension will apply in St Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife and will last for five years. The intention is to assist the Council in responding to local housing pressures. The suspension only applies to tenancies that commenced after 30 September 2002.
The other councils that have been given similar suspension permission are East Renfrewshire, Highland, South Ayrshire, and Moray. The provisions, allowing councils to seek suspension of the Right to Buy in "pressured" areas, was provided in Scottish housing legislation in 2001. That legislation also requires ministers to report to Parliament by September this year on the effect of the Right to Buy.
Announcing the Executive's acceptance of Fife's application, communities minister Malcolm Chisholm said: "Fife Council presented a convincing case in support of its application, with compelling evidence of substantial pressures on affordable housing in the designated areas."
He went on: "Local authorities are looking carefully at affordable housing in their own areas and deciding that the pressured area option can help them.
"The Executive recognises that there are strong views about right to buy, but we will consider whether there is a case for further changes only when we have seen the evidence that will be collected on the effect of the policy and reported to Parliament this autumn."
Source: www.24dash.com
