` A Green Mayor will use these powers to RIGHTS FOR TENANTS set up a Rent Commission for London AND RENTERS to decide on a new target level and downward trajectory for private rents, ` A Green Mayor will work from day one and immediately define the London for every Londoner to have their right Living Rent better to take account of to a decent, secure home respected, the wage gaps faced by households including the right to good standards, led by women and African, Caribbean, security from unfair and Asian, Latino and other minority ethnic protection from high rents. Londoners. ` Throughout the pandemic, Sian Berry has ` We will bring in a two-year freeze stood up for the rights of renters, fighting for private rents while the new body for the ban and proposing fair completes its work and puts forward ways to cancel rent arrears built up, not long-term, stable and predictable rent turn them into debts. Landlords who control plans. need support should be able to claim it from Government. Greens will continue to ` We will support the London Renters FRESH THINKING campaign until renters are not made to Union and other groups organising bear the burden of the crisis. tenants from the grassroots, providing grants for them to expand and for new ` A Green Mayor would not accept any local groups to be set up, as proposed more delays on the promised abolition of by Green Assembly Members in the no-fault evictions and section 21 of the FOR most recent GLA budget. This will Housing Act. include groups representing students safe place to live is a human right. But We must keep reforming the private rented ` We will campaign to scrap the benefit and migrants and refugees, as well as in London we are failing. The number sector, and fight together for better rights cap and maintain the emergency disabled tenants, to ensure their rights, A of people left destitute to sleep on and the power to bring in rent controls. coronavirus increases to the Local including to adapted homes when the streets is appalling, and this is just the Housing Allowance rate for housing needed, are respected. We also need better rights for social benefit so that it at least covers 30 per most visible sign of a much bigger problem. ` London will have its own Social Housing housing and council tenants. Hard- cent of rented homes in any local area. Our homeless people don’t need sweeping won ballots for estate residents facing Commissioner, charged with supporting up like fallen leaves into temporary homes.. demolition are a start, but we need to put ` Sian Berry pushed the current Mayor for tenant rights, equality and empowerment We need to heal the tree – root and branch more tenants fully in control of homes. more than three years before he started in council and social-rented homes, and – the system that has too many gaps to fall to argue for rent control powers for supporting active and thriving tenants’ Our existing homes need fixing too. through, and too much injustice. London, and London’s renters need a real associations across London. They will Councils and housing associations already champion for this issue. These devolved be a tenant themselves and supported System changes and power shifts are have a huge job to do on fire safety, and powers are urgent and Greens will not with the resources needed to empower the most resilient changes we can make. our next Mayor must assess the problem go slow or give up on pressing for these resident groups across London. Welfare must be fixed, because benefit and make plans for the powers, and we will work with mayors of ` We will provide grants and support for caps and universal credit are making London needs. other cities to win them. worse. new co-ops, including revolving loans for

48 MANIFESTO for a new start LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 49 new groups, targeting the promotion of student unions and student campaign these services particularly towards key organisations to bring this down. workers and people living in of ` We will support the calls from Green multiple occupation who wish to take students to support students affected over the running of their homes, and to by the coronavirus crisis, including rent African, Caribbean, Asian, Latino and rebates, refunds and grants and support other minority ethnic Londoners. for mental health. We will also campaign ` We will campaign at a national level for for the national Green Party policy to a right to co-op for people in shared write off student loan debts. houses, following up on research work ` Our new rules will include a by Sian Berry in the London Assembly. default right for renters to keep pets. ` We will work to close the loopholes that Greens on the London Assembly have leave property guardians in legal limbo, campaigned for unfair pet clauses to be and put forward changes in the law to banned since 2016. include property guardians in new rights for renters. NO MORE LOST ` We will amend the London Plan to better control short-term lettings in London, COUNCIL HOMES with strict limits - including prohibition ` A key power needed from housing in areas of high housing need - built devolution to London is the ability to into lease conditions for new buildings stop the loss of council homes through and give more support to councils in Right to Buy. Every effort we make to GREENS FIGHTING FOR enforcing time limits and quality of life build more council homes is currently for surrounding residents. neutralised by this policy. A Green Mayor ` Much higher levels of truly affordable will present evidence and campaign RENTERS’ RIGHTS fiercely for an urgent suspension of Right Sian Berry will stand with millions of her rented homes will be included in new to Buy in London. ian Berry has been a private renter fellow renters to strengthen their rights. planning policies for the Build to Rent S in London for nearly 25 years, and sector. ` A Green Mayor will stop the loss of She will work with other Mayors from has championed renters’ rights on the council homes through demolition. We across the country, to campaign for the ` We’ve campaigned from the start for a London Assembly right from the start, will review all funding conditions for devolved powers we need to set rent Student Living Rent. After pressing the putting forward the idea of a London estate demolition projects, especially for controls, bring down runaway rents, Mayor we have won requirements for a Renters Union in her manifesto for the those schemes that have not progressed forgive rent arrears accumulated during proportion of student accommodation to 2016 election. since being signed off by the current the pandemic, and end unfair evictions. be affordable in the new London Plan, Before that, Sian wrote to Sadiq Khan but we strongly believe that the Mayor’s Mayor before the ballot policy was while he was still an MP in 2015 asking The current Mayor has been defeatist definition of this at 55 per cent of the announced in 2018. New, resident-led him to help amend legislation to give and slow when it comes to winning a maximum maintenance loan is too high, plans would be required, along with rent control powers to city mayors. She better deal for housing. Sian Berry will and a Green Mayor would work with ballots for schemes that have stalled. continued to put pressure on the current be a committed champion for London’s Mayor for three years until, in late 2018, renters. he finally took action. LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 51 ` We will review all existing estate ballot ` A Green Mayor will add dramatically to exemptions. And we will prevent any the stock of low-cost rented homes by council and social rented homes being purchasing existing homes, with the GLA converted to ‘affordable’ rent in new using grants and sustainable borrowing plans. to buy homes from developers and landlords for renting at London Living ` A Green Mayor will bring estate ballots Rent levels from councils and housing into planning policy by requiring grant associations. applications from all demolition schemes to boost social housing numbers. ` We will also work with councils, housing Following problems with recent ballots, associations and pension funds to build improved guidance will do more to up a larger, collaborative revolving involve residents in devising plans from acquisition fund to expand this idea the start and give firmer guidance on further. neutrality in ballot publicity. ` We will work in partnership with councils ` We will support the production of to make better use of prudential funding credible People’s Plans for residents on and borrowing mechanisms to buy back estates with a funded expert team in City more homes previously lost under Right Hall to help. to Buy in order to bring these once again into council housing stock for letting NEW COUNCIL AND LOW- under secure tenancies. This will mitigate WINNING A FINAL SAY the continued net loss of council homes COST RENTED HOMES in London which Sian has exposed, and create a pipeline of new homes far WITH ESTATE BALLOTS FROM EXISTING HOUSING exceeding what is currently being built compulsory before funding is given for ` A Green Mayor will bring an end to the by councils. ebruary 2018 saw a massive victory demolition schemes. However, the new crisis in temporary accommodation F for residents on estates as the current rules still have unfair restrictions from by supporting and funding a rapid Mayor u-turned on his estate ballots voting for different kinds of residents, expansion of London Councils’ Capital CREATING THE NEW policy. including private renters. Letters programme, which leases homes HOMES WE NEED long-term from landlords at reasonable It was revealed that 95 per cent of The Mayor also allowed far too many ` A Green Mayor will correct mistakes rates for councils to provide to people responses to the draft estate guidance schemes – 34 in total – to slip through made by the current Mayor in using the in housing need. This approach will demanded ballots for residents, following the net, by giving them funding or grant money devolved save huge amounts compared with our campaigning with residents across planning permission in the long period from national government. The Mayor is the very high cost to councils of often London. of 11 months between the end of the moving too slowly and devoting too many substandard nightly paid temporary consultation period and the final policy grants to unaffordable shared ownership As a result, the Mayor dramatically accommodation, and can be funded by being announced. homes in future phases of long-term reversed his policy, after his draft working in partnership with councils and schemes, when more needs to go to guidance was explicitly against giving Our policy will be to review all of these minimal capital investment. residents this final say. schemes that are not now underway, The new guidance came into force in so we can require new plans and new July 2018, making a resident ballot ballots for residents. LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 53 create council and social rented homes ` We will scale up diversity in the housing ` We will use research from here and from those being built now. market – creating new programmes abroad to build more intentional | See more about our People’s Land to support councils, smaller housing intergenerational properties and Commission on page 59 ` Billions risk lying unspent long after 2023 associations, small builders and developments that better suit the from the 2016-2023 grant programme community models to build homes, lifecycle of families. This too will help unless something is done. Sian recently including on small sites identified by our support community building and can exposed that in mid-2020 £500 million People’s Land Commission. support reducing social care costs. was lying completely unallocated and useless. We will bring forward spending ` A Green Mayor will act now to support ` We will address overcrowding in and also use money allocated to later community led housing and co-ops in homes by conducting a borough by phases of planned building programmes the city. The Mayor has left the majority borough needs assessment, correcting to convert homes already in planning or of his Community Housing Fund unspent, gaps in current Government statistics, being constructed into new council and and failed to put significant public land and putting together a strategy to social housing. towards these new ideas. better match people to homes across London, working with older Londoners’ ` Our new planning policies will recognise ` We will use the Mayor’s Land Fund better representatives to establish new that the current Mayor’s ‘London and open up the London Development Mayoral programmes to find ways to Affordable Rent’ is not the same as Board with more transparency and new provide people who wish to downsize social rent and seek to abolish all dodgy members from tenant, resident and with genuinely attractive and desirable definitions of affordable housing for good. community housing groups. options, including co-housing. ` By presenting clear evidence and by ` Using planning and funding powers, we ` We will work with local authorities to campaigning alongside Londoners, we will make sure more fully wheelchair support owner occupiers to take on will win more funding and much more accessible homes, built to the highest lodgers, and provide GLA advice for flexibility for new housing grants from standards, are secured by councils and potential lodgers, setting up a brokerage the Government. This will include a push in planning decisions by the Mayor. service, along with standards and a for more funding for the conversion of Currently, a very small percentage of register of hosts, and policies to ensure existing homes, and homes already planned homes are fully wheelchair fair rents and decent living conditions. under construction, into social rent accessible, and there is an acute homes, not just new builds. shortage of council homes for disabled ` A Green Mayor will campaign for a Londoners. Community Right to Buy for land and ` A Green Mayor’s grants for new homes buildings that community organisations will not be for unaffordable shared ` Housing needs projections must be wish to make use of, at a national level ownership or ‘affordable’ rent, but be improved so that boroughs make suitable or the devolved powers to create this reserved for new council homes, social provision for accessible and supported right in London. housing and community-led housing, housing for young people who become with smaller grants available for London adults with disabilities. This work is best ` We will use small sites better, working Living Rent homes. The grants will be coordinated at a London-wide level and alongside councils and communities provided on a sliding scale depending on we will make sure the GLA leads on this, to map spaces within local areas the number of bedrooms to increase the and reviews allocations policies from where new homes can fit, through a level of family housing provided. councils to make sure they are available London-wide, bottom-up People’s Land to people who need them. Commission.

54 MANIFESTO for a new start LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 55 STOPPING POOR DOORS AND POOR PLAYGROUNDS

reens on the London Assembly have G pushed successfully for policies to prevent social division being built into new developments. ‘Poor doors’ where social and affordable housing residents have separate entrances and get inferior facilities are discriminatory and create unnecessary divisions and hierarchies between residents. ` We first highlighted the potential for ‘poor playgrounds’ – the horrific prospect of separate areas being built for children in different tenures to play in – in our response to the Mayor’s Housing Strategy. ` Although we have been successful in getting councils like Camden to write clear policies against these divisions into open spaces policies, the current Mayor has still not put watertight rules into his new London Plan, and a Green Mayor will correct this. to review all council processes and make FIXING OUR EXISTING HOMES clear standards at a London level. Fixing the shocking state of fire safety in ` We will campaign for deep reforms to our homes is a huge job for every kind leasehold, including caps on ground of housing provider, thanks to years of rents and limits on charges for major deregulation by the Government and works, and campaign for changes to appalling work by big developers and make commonhold and the right to contractors. a people’s land manage easier to obtain for leaseholders. ` A Green Mayor will take the lead at a | SEE MORE About our Green New DEal IN strategic level, assess the work needed THE CHAPTER WE WILL CREATE THE commission community-led and non-profit builders and make the case to ministers that GREENEST CITY IN THE WORLD our councils, housing associations, reens will put power back into the finding it easier to access land and try leaseholders and private landlords need | See more about homes and safety G hands of Londoners by setting up a different models. in our chapter Action for a Safe and People’s Land Commission. specific funding and support to make our ` With suitable sites identified and Healthy City homes safe. Together, we will go out into our city, approved by the local community, ` Energy saving is as neglected and urgent and find land for the things local people the GLA and London’s councils can as the safety work needed on our homes. really want, like homes, community use compulsory purchase powers Greens have been highlighting the lack halls, small businesses, parks, where land is not already publicly of work on our many 19th and 20th playgrounds, theatres and youth centres. owned to bring more land forward for century homes since a major report was When local people find plots of land development. produced in the early 2000s by Jean which aren’t being put to good use ` Greens on the London Assembly have Lambert MEP. A Green Mayor will start and would be suitable for small scale put together evidence showing that on day one with a full, new assessment developments, a Green Mayor will adding more homes on top of existing of the city’s needs. We would use this provide the funding to put these ideas buildings, converting underused land to make plans and demands for huge into action. from car parks and garages, and investment in our housing, which will get doing that creatively and with the the carbon emissions from our homes This is the fresh thinking on housing which London needs, and it will put community, could provide many more down to zero and show fuel poverty the new homes than treating people’s door. the land under your feet back into your hands. homes as ‘brownfield land’ and ` For disabled people, bidding for council prioritising demolition schemes that homes is far more difficult, and more ` Green Mayor will set up a People’s break up communities and face fierce time and help is needed to ensure homes Land Commission to help identify new opposition. can be viewed ahead of bidding and that sites and bring land together for more community-led housing projects ` We also need a Community Right to necessary adjustments are planned in Buy at a national level, or via devolved good time before moving in. Councils are ` Working with local people can lead to powers to London. These rights responsible for this, but a Green Mayor better outcomes and quicker results, already exist in Scotland and are will work with disabled people’s groups with plans less likely to be challenged, helping local communities to buy land and a wider variety of smaller and buildings and put them to use.

58 MANIFESTO for a new start LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 59 some point in the last year, giving them a and for this right to apply across all HOMES FOR ALL LONDONERS place to stay when they have had nowhere tenancies. Greens on the London Assembly have else to go. ` A Green Mayor will create a new team worked to expose the problems faced by Sian Berry says: within the homelessness service at City more and more Londoners who lose their Hall focused specifically on reaching homes every year through no fault of their “We need to fix a system that has too many and supporting EU migrants who are own. gaps for people to fall through. The Mayor’s at particular risk of homelessness office can help build more homes, and all Families, young people, migrants, veterans, already and face new problems as Brexit the policies in this chapter are aimed at people with poor mental health or family progresses. fixing fractures and injustice in our housing problems, and people denied help by system. ` We will require local authorities to the benefits system, are all especially automatically record the protected vulnerable to becoming homeless, along “But City Hall can also take more action characteristics of those presenting at with private renters facing eviction. to fix the temporary accommodation crisis housing options services, so we can and improve the information and help Councils are struggling to provide enough see more evidence of discrimination in people facing homelessness can access, temporary accommodation and the number housing policies. and make services much more consistent of people forced to sleep on the streets has between councils with fewer gaps.” ` We will make sure there is consistent increased dramatically in central London in and fair assessment by councils recent years. To put street homelessness in London in of ‘vulnerability’ and health needs, the past where it belongs: Sian Berry’s work on the Assembly has and increase support and targeted also helped expose the problem of hidden ` A Green Mayor will fund and support information for young people, homelessness. more Housing First provision in London. families and LGBTIQA+ people facing This approach helps people with On any given night, more than 13 times homelessness, as well as people with additional needs and vulnerabilities, such as many people are in temporary homes, medical needs who need support from as people with mental health needs or hiding from view on the streets, staying their doctors. people who are drug dependent, with with friends and family or sofa surfing, ` We will also help solve the crisis in an unconditional, non-institutional home than are counted in traditional surveys of temporary accommodation with our so that they are more easily able to homelessness. policies to create new council and focus on their problems while remaining low-rent homes from existing housing. Women, including those facing domestic independent. abuse, young people and LGBTIQA+ ` We will make sure young people ` We will fight for more funding from Londoners are some of the worst affected, under 25 facing homelessness have Government to make sure councils can and only a minority of young people are the dedicated support they need, with fully respect people’s right to help ahead even approaching councils for help as they separate accommodation and support of being evicted, as required by the feel like they will get no help. work, and the right proportion of GLA Homelessness Reduction Act. Greens recently carried out research that funding set aside for this work. ` We will push in Parliament for legislation found Londoners themselves are helping to that guarantees victims of domestic pick up the pieces, with one in ten people abuse the right to remain in their homes, taking in a friend or family member at if they wish, rather than the perpetrator,

60 MANIFESTO for a new start LONDON GREEN PARTY 2021 61 To get involved in our campaign to transform London, contact [email protected] or JOIN visit www.sianberry.london OUR Team @sianberry sian_berry facebook.com/sianberrygreen

Promoted by Nick Barnett on behalf of Sian Berry and London Green Party, all at The Biscuit Factory, J215, 100 Clements Rd, London SE16 4DG. Printed on FSC sustainable paper by Scanplus Print Group, 61 Imperial Way, Croydon CR0 4RR. All photos with Sian and Londoners were either taken pre-coronavirus or conducted in accordance with guidelines.