Today, 2nd February, the Government has announced its levelling up plan which aims to close the gap between the rich and poor parts of the country. As part of the plan the Government has announced that housing will be included as one of the 12 missions to level up the UK with policies underpinning this involving:

• Ensuring that all private rented homes must meet a minimum standard
• Scrapping section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions
• Consult on introducing a landlord register to tackle substandard rental properties
• A commitment to build more genuinely affordable housing and deliver a Social Housing Regulation Bill

Responding to the announcement Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “It’s welcome to see that housing has a seat at the table in the Government’s ambition to level up the country over the next ten years, alongside commitments to provide more genuinely affordable social housing, scrap no fault evictions and introduce a landlord register. We know that good jobs and improving wages are also key to people keeping a roof over their head so it’s positive to see emphasis being placed on this as well.

“For too long now families have had to languish on ever growing council house waiting lists, while renters have had to put up with paying extortionate rents on squalid homes because they can’t speak out for fear of eviction. ​We look forward to seeing the details to address this imbalance​, and are pleased to see that ​it will span across all departments. 

“The Government must make providing housing that people can afford the backbone of levelling up​, which must include a step change in the delivery of social rent housing and the funding needed to turn these commitments into reality. Only this will deliver the change we need to see communities thrive​, and an end to homelessness for good.”