Green London Assembly Member Darren Johnson has today criticised the Mayor’s housing policy after it emerged that despite austerity measures aimed to contain public debt, London’s housing benefit bill is rising.
Over the last two years the number of working Londeners
who need housing benefit to pay their rent has increased
by 52,000.
According to a report published on Monday by the National Housing Federation an “‘unsustainable” housing market in London and elsewhere in Britain is leading to a rising housing benefit bill for the Government. In spite of cuts and caps, 52,000 more working Londoners have started to claim housing benefit in the past two years.
Darren Johnson, Green AM, has criticised the Mayor of London for failing to support the two long term solutions to London’s housing benefit bill: social housing and rent controls. The Mayor negotiated a 66% cut to the social housing budget in 2011 and has opposed any continental-style regulation of the private rented sector.
Darren Johnson commented,
“More and more low paid workers simply can’t pay the rent in London, which is the main reason the housing benefit bill is rising. The Mayor has failed to make the case for investing in low rent social housing, and has opposed the sort of rent controls that are common in the rest of Europe. If we want to get a grip on high rents, get our economy moving and contain the benefit bill, these solutions are the only way forward.”
Throughout his time at the London Assembly, Darren Johnson has worked to improve housing in London. Please see here for his work on affordable rent maps.