A new package of measures from the new government will ensure homes are decent, warm, and safe for all Portsmouth people.
Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, who has long campaigned for safe and secure homes for the city’s residents, said the policies will help both renters and those hoping to buy their own home.
The package of measures to ensure decent homes for all announced today includes:
- Consulting on a new Decent Homes Standard for the social rented and private rented sectors.
- Bringing forward legislation on Awaab’s Law this autumn, so hazards such as damp and mould are identified and remedied to set timescales. The Government will implement Awaab’s Act for social housing and is extending protections to the private rented sector through the Renter’s Rights Bill. This will support tenants living in 746,000 homes with reported serious hazards to secure faster repairs, reducing health and safety risks.
- Bringing forward new access to information requirements on social housing landlords, to enable 2.5 million housing associations tenants to hold their landlords to account to drive up the quality of housing and services they provide, and new competence and conduct standards to ensure staff have the right skills and experience to support tenants when things go wrong.
- Bringing forward a Remediation Acceleration Plan this Autumn to go further and faster to fix unsafe cladding and make existing homes safe.
- Bringing forward plans for high quality housebuilding – and homes fit for the future – through the revised National Planning Policy Framework this Autumn.
This follows recent government announcements to support social and affordable housebuilding, including by introducing more flexibilities in the current Affordable Housing Programme and reforms to Right to Buy.
Commenting, Labour MP for Portsmouth South Stephen Morgan said:
“Following 14 years of Tory government, too many people in Portsmouth are unable to own decent homes that are warm and safe.
“That’s why the new government is prioritising this agenda with a range of proposals to support renters and house buyers in Portsmouth.
“These measures alongside the Government’s plans to get Britain building again will ensure that Portsmouth residents can live in houses they are proud to call home.”
Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister, announcing the plans at Labour’s recent conference, said:
“Just because Britain isn’t working at the moment, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. We will deliver for working people and, in doing so, show that politics can change lives.
“We’ve inherited a Tory housing crisis. This Labour Government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm.
“Whilst many housing associations and Councils do their best to support tenants, too many have been let down for too long stuck in substandard and even dangerous homes and we’ve seen the devastating consequences. The work of change has begun.
“For Labour this is not just about building houses at any cost but making houses people can call home. This means ending the scandalous situation where standards for existing and future tenants don’t currently even meet the minimum of safety and decency everyone should expect.”
“Today Labour is committing to raising the bar on the poor standards we’ve inherited from the Tories to ensure homes are fit for the future. This Labour government is fixing the foundations as a rock-solid platform from which to rebuild Britain.”
