This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/23/tenants-pay-for-housing-fiascos-from-post-grenfell-bills-to-self-financing
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tenants pay for housing fiascos, from post-Grenfell bills to ‘self-financing’ | Tenants pay for housing fiascos, from post-Grenfell bills to ‘self-financing’ |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Letters | Letters |
| Tue 23 Jan 2018 18.15 GMT | Tue 23 Jan 2018 18.15 GMT |
| Last modified on Tue 23 Jan 2018 22.00 GMT | |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| View more sharing options | View more sharing options |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Close | Close |
| Your article (Recladding of risky towers barely begun, 23 January) notes that one council has “promised to pay tenants extra heating bills”. But Grenfell’s experience has taught everyone: beware of promises. Although many council-tenant residents whose cladding has been removed are getting discounts or vouchers to help with heating, these often go nowhere near meeting the costs in a now-uninsulated high-rise flat, where even 24/7 heating may not be sufficient to keep warm. Cold, damp and mould are affecting the health of whole families. | Your article (Recladding of risky towers barely begun, 23 January) notes that one council has “promised to pay tenants extra heating bills”. But Grenfell’s experience has taught everyone: beware of promises. Although many council-tenant residents whose cladding has been removed are getting discounts or vouchers to help with heating, these often go nowhere near meeting the costs in a now-uninsulated high-rise flat, where even 24/7 heating may not be sufficient to keep warm. Cold, damp and mould are affecting the health of whole families. |
| Like fire, cold is serious. It is especially lethal for residents who are elderly, disabled or ill. Last winter, over 11,000 people are estimated to have died because they could not heat their homes. These dual terrors were the subject of our 18 January public meeting, Dying from Fire, Dying from Cold: Housing Safety Post-Grenfell. | Like fire, cold is serious. It is especially lethal for residents who are elderly, disabled or ill. Last winter, over 11,000 people are estimated to have died because they could not heat their homes. These dual terrors were the subject of our 18 January public meeting, Dying from Fire, Dying from Cold: Housing Safety Post-Grenfell. |
| Responsibility for fire hazards, for inadequate or missing insulation, for watered-down regulations, and for the running down of resources for inspection and enforcement, is shared by local authorities, landlords and central government. It also lies with developers and contractors – the ones that clad UK high-rises in flammable materials and left out insulation where it was specified. They profited from the savings. | Responsibility for fire hazards, for inadequate or missing insulation, for watered-down regulations, and for the running down of resources for inspection and enforcement, is shared by local authorities, landlords and central government. It also lies with developers and contractors – the ones that clad UK high-rises in flammable materials and left out insulation where it was specified. They profited from the savings. |
| Amid “disputes between councils and the government over who should pay”, the people who bear no responsibility are the ones who are paying: in increased poverty, worsened health, and potentially even with lives. Meanwhile, Grenfell survivors are still in hotels.Ruth LondonFuel Poverty Action | Amid “disputes between councils and the government over who should pay”, the people who bear no responsibility are the ones who are paying: in increased poverty, worsened health, and potentially even with lives. Meanwhile, Grenfell survivors are still in hotels.Ruth LondonFuel Poverty Action |
| • The suggestion that lifting the borrowing cap will enable councils to build council housing on a large scale (Report, 22 January) ignores the funding crisis faced by local authority housing revenue accounts. Council HRAs still have £26bn of “debt” that they have to service. When 136 authorities were given an extra £13bn debt in 2012 when “self-financing” was introduced, it was based on estimates of income over 30 years that bear no comparison with the rent councils are actually collecting. | • The suggestion that lifting the borrowing cap will enable councils to build council housing on a large scale (Report, 22 January) ignores the funding crisis faced by local authority housing revenue accounts. Council HRAs still have £26bn of “debt” that they have to service. When 136 authorities were given an extra £13bn debt in 2012 when “self-financing” was introduced, it was based on estimates of income over 30 years that bear no comparison with the rent councils are actually collecting. |
| They are taking in much less rent than was built into the “debt settlement”. Over the course of their 30-year business plans, individual councils are taking in hundreds of millions of pounds less as a result of government policies such as the four-year rent cut. This shortage of funds has led them to cut back on vital work on existing stock. Failing to renew key housing components before they wear out can only lead to a deterioration in the conditions of the stock and hence tenants’ living conditions. | They are taking in much less rent than was built into the “debt settlement”. Over the course of their 30-year business plans, individual councils are taking in hundreds of millions of pounds less as a result of government policies such as the four-year rent cut. This shortage of funds has led them to cut back on vital work on existing stock. Failing to renew key housing components before they wear out can only lead to a deterioration in the conditions of the stock and hence tenants’ living conditions. |
| Fundamentally, council HRAs have insufficient funds to maintain and renew their existing stock. The “debt” was manipulated by governments of all stripes to fleece tenants, who have in fact paid more in rent than the cost of historic building programmes. There can be no large-scale council building without central government grant.Martin WicksSecretary, Swindon Tenants Campaign Group | Fundamentally, council HRAs have insufficient funds to maintain and renew their existing stock. The “debt” was manipulated by governments of all stripes to fleece tenants, who have in fact paid more in rent than the cost of historic building programmes. There can be no large-scale council building without central government grant.Martin WicksSecretary, Swindon Tenants Campaign Group |
| • John Harris is absolutely right (With a little imagination we can solve the housing crisis, 22 January). But we need council planning committees to stand up to profit-driven developers and throw out schemes that don’t deliver enough affordable housing, as Southwark have just commendably done with the proposed Elephant & Castle scheme. Unlike my own council, Waltham Forest, which last month meekly rolled over and approved a scheme for Walthamstow town centre including four monstrously out-of-scale tower blocks containing no genuinely affordable housing at all.Graham LarkbeyLondon | • John Harris is absolutely right (With a little imagination we can solve the housing crisis, 22 January). But we need council planning committees to stand up to profit-driven developers and throw out schemes that don’t deliver enough affordable housing, as Southwark have just commendably done with the proposed Elephant & Castle scheme. Unlike my own council, Waltham Forest, which last month meekly rolled over and approved a scheme for Walthamstow town centre including four monstrously out-of-scale tower blocks containing no genuinely affordable housing at all.Graham LarkbeyLondon |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
| Housing | Housing |
| Communities | Communities |
| Grenfell Tower fire | Grenfell Tower fire |
| letters | letters |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |