As housing campaigners and organisations, we denounce the racist lies and distortions put out by Reform UK and others about the roots of the housing crisis.

Nigel Farage’s party tries to blame migrants and refugees for the lack of housing and soaring rents. It demands a “UK Connection test” for social housing, and insists that “foreign nationals must go to the back of the queue”.

It’s a recipe for intensified attacks on migrants, but also anyone who is perceived not to be “White British”.

At the same time Reform UK panders to big developers and landlords.

It wants tax handouts and “loose fit planning”: to allow developers to impose their schemes on local people. And it pushes to scrap the 2019 tax changes that limited mortgage interest relief for landlords.

As David McLennan, “30 years in the property sector, now preparing to stand as candidate for Reform Scotland in upcoming elections” said, “We’re very much a landlords’ party”.

It’s true that the party doesn’t back renters. It opposes an end to Section 21 “no fault evictions”.

Migrants are not over-represented in social housing.

Around 90 percent of social housing residents are UK nationals, the same as the makeup of the national population. 17 percent of people born in the UK live in social housing, compared to 18 percent of people not born in the UK.

The housing crisis is because of a decades-long failure to build council housing, and planning laws that let developers build for profit, not people’s needs. We need rent controls, not more migration controls and deportations.
Unless Reform UK’s lies are challenged, they will increasingly be taken up by other parties, and the Labour government.

We call for the rejection of all forms of racism and discrimination in the housing sector and society in general. We say don’t blame refugees for the problems in society.

Homes for All is a coalition of housing campaigners, tenants, solidarity groups and the labour & Trade Union Movement. Formed during the campaign against the Housing & Planning Act, 2015. Rent Controls, Housing and Planning for People not for Profit. Council housing is the only solution to the housing crisis.

Paul B from Haringey Defend Council Housing sets out the case.

The government wants to increase social formula rents by CPI inflation plus 1% a year for ten years, PLUS an additional amount for ‘rent convergence’, which could be an additional £2 increase a year for ten years on top.  This is targeting some of the worst off people in society.

There is a consultation which lasts until 27 August on HOW rent convergence should be implemented.

The case for these increases is based on the assigned market value for each property, as set by the landlord, and there is plenty of evidence that landlords set these values much too high.

Landlord rent calculations cannot be trusted. Freedom of Information replies show that in a substantial number of cases in London, Social Rents for new homes have been set ABOVE the permitted maximum (“the Social Rent Cap”) – in as many as 32% of cases.

REAL rent convergence would mean getting rid of Affordable Rent and London Affordable Rent, and using Social Rent for all social rent homes.

Let’s use the consultation period to put the case against these unjustified rent increases, and bring an end to so-called “affordable rents”.