The Voice of Private Tenants in Camden Winter 2010/2011 Issue 8 Photo: Damian Cugley Photo: The Cold Homes Scandal A survey commissioned by the they were concerned about the cost, fact, £1 in every £4 we spend heating environmental charity, Friends of the despite being cold. our homes is wasted due to poor Earth, has found that 1 in 3 people in insulation.” These tenants were also the least likely the UK felt uncomfortably cold in their to think their home had adequate He went on to say: “Our survey shows home, during the recent big freeze. insulation (54 per cent), compared to 86 tenants renting from a landlord or The poll also found that 57 per cent of per cent of homeowners who thought lettings agency have been unacceptably people kept the heating on non-stop their home was adequately insulated cold at home during the big freeze – for more than 12 hours to try to stay and 30 per cent of homeowners who to protect them, we need a new law warm – despite energy price hikes that found their house uncomfortably cold. making it illegal to rent out the coldest, have seen the average annual gas and health-hazard properties until they are In fact, Government figures show electricity bill rise to £1,228. improved.” just 0.3 per cent of English homes are 24 per cent of people also admitted properly insulated to a high standard Friends of the Earth are campaigning to keeping their coat, hat or gloves on of energy efficiency that would make with the Camden Federation of Private at home in an attempt to ward off the them really cheap to heat, and 17 per Tenants and a wide variety of other chill, while 30 per cent tried to protect cent of homes are so cold they can be organisations to convince politicians themselves at night by wearing more officially classified as a health hazard to and policy makers that this must be than one layer in bed. the people living in them. done as a matter of urgency. Not surprisingly, tenants renting from Friends of the Earth’s Warm Homes For advice on how you can reduce your a private landlord or through a lettings campaigner Dave Timms said: “Just energy bills or where to go for help if agency fared the worst during the because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you are having problems paying them, snowy weather, with half saying they felt you should be shivering in your home see page 6 of this newsletter. cold at home. And, worryingly, 34 per too. Many people mistakenly believe For more information about FoE’s Warm cent turned off the heating because their home is properly insulated – in Homes campaign go to their website or use: http://tinyurl.com/29vrvn4 The newsletter for all private tenants (including housing association tenants and non-council leaseholders). 2 The Camden Private Tenant www.cfpt.org.uk Consuming The Next Generation – The Buy To Let Monster Awakes for places to earn a better return than have appeared on these estates. Council the record low interest rates common tenants exercising the right to buy, on the high street. Many, like Tony and often aided by unscrupulous finance Cherie Blair, have bought small flats so companies, were selling on as soon as their kids can live rent free – and share the 3 year qualifying period expired. The with rent-paying students, at a nice new owners were professional landlords. profit to the parents. In other cases, former council tenants took the opportunity to move out of More commonly, those whose kids have town and let out their council flats. left the nest are downsizing from the Three things the last government got family home and putting the equity to Thus, at a blow, right to buy has not tragically wrong in housing. Failure to work for them, again buying small flats created fewer tenants but more (due to end council home Right To Buy. Failing to rent out. Of course both properties overcrowding) and with far less rights or to divert money raised from sales into are exactly the type which young any sense of belonging on the estates building new social housing. Allowing couples would also be looking to buy as than the original residents. Most ironic, the growth of buy-to-let mortgages. starter homes. An unequal competition ex-council flats now in the hands of All this against a background of between the generations has created private landlords are being rented back unanticipated population growth, most what’s been called a “Jilted Generation” by the council to house the homeless of it centred on our cities. – condemned to a lifetime of traipsing at much higher cost than were they between one rented flat after another. available for their original purpose. The results are stark – according to the National Housing Federation’s figures, The news pages of the dailies report It’s a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, presently buying a home in Camden is no longer that the number of mortgages being hosted by Housing Minister Grant a realistic prospect for those living offered to home makers has hit record Shapps (he of the Cheshire Cat smile). here. The average house price is over lows especially smaller mortgages that £600,000 and you’d need to be earning might help first time buyers. But the £154,500 per annum to get a mortgage financial pages tell a different story. on that. The average income in Camden Paragon Mortgages Ltd, one of the big is £32,000 – a high figure – but many buy-to-let lenders before the credit people doing vital jobs in London are crunch have decided to re-enter the earning half that figure. market expecting to lend £400 million in the next year. The economics of buy Nationally the picture is almost as to let – apparently self sustaining for the depressing. Outside the richer parts of investor as they create shortages buying the South East, property prices have up homes and then supply the solution stalled, accompanied by the prospect of by renting them out, have proved joblessness once the current cuts bite. fragile. The accompanying house price That hasn’t discouraged the new spiral depends on stable interest rates Rachmans stalking the Manchester and rent rises. Which may prove illusory area and the North East – as exposed in a slump subject to global forces, as by the recent Panorama programme. seen when an American housing credit This exposed dodgy entrepreneurs crash dominoed our banks. Notably, buying up neglected properties – Bradford & Bingley and the Northern mortgage repossession and the like Rock – both big buy-to-let lenders. – and renting them out to councils to Ironically, the latter, rescued by the house vulnerable people such as single public purse remains a major force in a mothers. Conditions were shown to renewed lettings boomlet. be damp and unsanitary. In the face of surveyor’s reports from the BBC, one Right To Buy ? – Wrong ! company involved flatly denied all and When right to buy was floated by the private landlord featured hid from Michael Heseltine in the late 70s he the cameras, in his own home. claimed that allowing better-off council There’s also respectable cash in the tenants to own their homes would pockets of the generation who saved improve quality of life on estates. In and gained good pension pots in the fact the reverse has happened and 1980’s and 90’s. That money is looking increasing numbers of private tenants The Camden Private Tenant www.cfpt.org.uk 3 News in Brief New Chair Sarah Mitchell Cold Comfort Rents On The Rise Sarah Mitchell was Research carried out by National According to LSL Property Services, the recently elected as the Energy Action (NEA) for The Times average UK rent is now 3.1% higher than new Chair of Camden newspaper indicates that by early next at the same time last year, following Federation of Private year 5.5 million households or 21% of eight consecutive months of rises. Tenants’ management the total, will be in what is called “fuel London and the South East has lead committee. poverty” (defined as spending more the way, with London rents hitting an than 10% of your monthly income on She takes over from John McMillan, all-time high in September 2010, having energy bills) – the highest level since who has been carrying out the role risen by 6.8% since January of the same 1996. since 2007. John said: “We face a very year. challenging 12 months but I believe that The figure will increase from the However, research by BDRC Continental as an organisation we are stronger than previous estimate of 5.1 million shows rent arrears increasing, with 34% at any time in my ten years’ experience households, when British Gas, the of landlords affected, the highest figure as a member and have a better-than- county’s largest energy supplier raises they have recorded since starting their ever claim to represent private tenants its prices by 7%. Scottish & Southern quarterly survey of 500 private landlords in the borough.” Energy and Scottish Power have already in 2006. hit millions of their customers with price Sarah, who has a professional and rises in November. They also found that two thirds of personal interest in housing policy, landlords have no plans to increase works for the Better Regulation To make matters worse, the government rents over the next three months, due Executive in the Department for will be cutting funding for the Warm to “uncertain economic conditions” or Business, Innovation and Skills.