Changes to council housing regulations will 'kill social housing', says Cannock councillor

The Government's housing and planning bill has been criticised by Cannock Councillor Frank Allen, who says a 'change in attitude' towards housing was needed in the near future.

The bill includes measures to extend right to buy to housing association tenants, introduce 'pay to stay' charges for tenants in council houses earning more than £30,000 per household a year which means they have to pay a market or near market level of rent.

Councillor Allen said he believes the bill will make it more difficult for the council to build new social homes in order to address its growing waiting list.

He said: "When this new housing bill comes into action it will kill social housing as we know it.

"Those of us who believed in social housing will have to accept defeat until times improve or there is a severe attitude change towards housing from the Government.

"In the last 30 years or so, housing is the only thing the Government has repeatedly sought to neglect.

"It has been persistently put on the back-burner and we will reap the harvest of that.

"It will become more and more difficult for us to build homes and make them available.

"It is okay for all of these rules on affordable housing being put in place from the private sector but that is really just charging people the market rate under a different name."

The Government has been accused of adding to the housing crisis with the bill as only some of the money raised is earmarked for replacement council housing, which does not have to match the size of properties sold off.

In February, Cannock Chase Council's leader George Adamson said a reduction in social housing rents means his council will lose £75.8million from its 30-year home building programme.

The reduction in resources mean the council can only build 113 homes out of its previously promised 168, he said.

It comes as the housing waiting list which currently stands at 1,198 is expected to continue to rise, and the council does not have the provisions to build more homes to meet the demand.

The government's bill has reached report stage, and was recently debated in the Commons amid protests and concern from social housing professionals.

Protestors in London carried banners and placards reading 'Anti-social housing policy from the House of Ill Repute', 'Kill the Housing Bill' and 'You're heartless, We're Homeless' as they passed the Houses of Parliament earlier this month.