Feb 23, 2009
Lib Dems call for action to help at risk tenants
Cllr Daisy Benson, Lib Dem Housing spokesperson on Reading Borough Council, has written to senior officers of the Council to highlight the plight of tenants in the many private rented properties in the town facing eviction due to landlords failing to keep up with payments on buy-to let mortgages.
Cllr Daisy Benson said:
“According to a nationwide survey of landlords by housing charity, Shelter, 22 per cent of respondents, around 160,000 households – admit to struggling or falling behind with their monthly mortgage payments.
Five per cent, around 37,000, expect to be repossessed in the next six months.
This issue could become a major problem in Reading, given the fact that 20% of households currently live in rented accomodation and the large number of buy-to-let landlords in the town.
I am very concerned about the impact that this crisis this could have on people renting locally and I have written to the Chief Executive of the Council to ask what the Council can do to support tenants who may be at serious risk from eviction through no fault of their own.”
Cllr Gareth Epps PPC for Reading East added:
“The Lib Dems have long campaigned to raise the profile of Reading’s large private rented housing sector and the people in it.
As a a result of our campaign Labour politicians have realised much more needs to be done in this area. This is long overdue.
However, like many other towns Reading has experienced a massive increase in the number of landlords taking out sub-prime mortgages and subsequently getting into diffculty.”
What is needed now is national action by the Labour Government to stop tenants being evicted, as well as local support for tenants by Reading Borough Council and other agencies.”
Editor’s Notes
Background can be found on the LibDem Redlands website
