Opinion:Â Banishing the shadow of bad housing
Last month the government published the Renters Reform Bill that will scrap âno faultâ evictions for private tenants. This is a welcome move, though long overdue.
Ending no fault evictions will be significant in Oxford, where a third of homes are privately rented. Everybody deserves the security of knowing they canât be evicted for no reason. Insecure private renting has a profound impact on peopleâs ability to plan their lives and live free from worry.
One thing the bill wonât fix is the affordability of private renting. This is a serious issue in a city where rents are over 50% higher than for England as a whole. Although the bill aims to limit âunjustifiedâ rent increases the problem we have is that rent is too expensive here already.
Unaffordable housing puts people at greater risk of homelessness. It pushes them into hardship, overcrowded and unfit conditions or out of Oxford altogether. The 2021 census found a 23% reduction in under-fives compared to 2011 â a clear sign that young families find it increasingly difficult to live here.
Even before the cost of living crisis, the cost of housing meant that nearly a third of Oxfordâs children lived below the poverty line. Bad housing has a devastating impact on childrenâs health and wellbeing and casts a long shadow over their future life chances.
What can we do about this? While our HMO and selective licensing schemes are driving up standards for private tenants, we have no power to control their rents. What we are doing is providing more affordable homes â a key priority in our new five-year housing, homelessness and rough sleeping strategy.
Our housing company OX Place is delivering the affordable homes we so badly need. By the end of this decade, OX Place aims to build over 2,000 homes. These will include a new generation of more than 1,100 council homes, let at social rent. Another 300 homes will be in other affordable tenures like shared ownership.
Social rent is genuinely affordable. In Oxford itâs typically around 40% of the rent a private landlord would charge for the same home.
Shared ownership helps people onto the housing ladder, making homeownership a reality for people who would otherwise be priced out of Oxford. Key workers. First-time buyers. People aged under 40.
Solving Oxfordâs housing crisis will require more bold action from central government, but every new affordable home we build locally solves an individual crisis and makes a life-changing difference. Thatâs why Oxford City Council will continue working to bring forward new sites for development to deliver the homes Oxford people need.
Opinion piece by Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing. Originally published in The Oxford Mail/TimesÂ
Call for more powers to regulate short term letsÂ
This week, we renewed our longstanding call for powers to regulate properties entirely rented out as short lets, in response to two government consultations.
The rise of websites like Airbnb and Vrbo has led to a rapid increase in the number of short lets in Oxford in the last decade, this is a big issue for a city with a housing crisis.Â
At the moment, the short let sector is virtually unregulated. This means we have little power to enforce standards required for other rented accommodation.
What makes a house a home?
This month we're running an #OxfordNeedsHomes campaign across our channels. The campaign will help you understand our five-year Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy priorities, give background to the housing crisis we currently face in the city, and celebrate the work being done by OX Place to tackle it.Â
As part of it, we'll also be asking the question: "What makes a house a home?" and that's where we need your help, Subscriber.
If you have a spare couple of minutes, please click the link below and submit your response. We'll be sharing some of these on our social media platforms this month so keep your eyes peeled.
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