view issue 35 (housing)

An independent Social Affairs magazinewww.viewdigital.org Issue 35, 2016

VIEW

THIS ISSUE IS SUPPORTED BY THE NORTHERN IRELAND HOUSING EXECUTIVE

CRYINGCRYINGOUT FOROUT FORSOCIALSOCIALHOUSINGHOUSING

See story on pages 14-15Report: Ciara LawnImage: Hannah Mitchell

VIEW, Issue 35, 2016 www.viewdigital.org

Our 35th issue of VIEW is dedicatedto housing issues. It’s also theseventh publication of VIEW that

has been centred around key social issues. The other six looked at: Standing Up To Racism; CommunityFood Initiatives; How the Community isusing Digital Technology; Child Poverty,Disability and Homelessness.

I hope you enjoy our housing magazine. The support from guest editor Professor Paddy Gray and the

Northern Ireland Housing Executive wasinvaluable in putting it together.

Two main areas of housing in Northern Ireland need to be urgentlyaddressed: the chronic shortage of socialhousing, and homelessness.

We must also move beyond segregated housing.

A number of comment pieces fromrespected experts are included in thepublication.

I was particularly glad to hear fromthe Irish Housing Network (story onpages 26-27). It’s an excellent exampleof people in communities in Dublin whocame together to campaign for socialhousing and against homelessness

By Brian Pelanco-founder, VIEWdigital

VIEW puts housing on the agenda


EditorialVIEW, an independent socialmagazine in Northern Ireland

Igrew up in was in an aluminium bungalow in a place called Daire’sWillows in Armagh. There were 20such bungalows erected by the old NIHousing Trust then transferred to the

NIHE when it took over responsibilitiesfor housing in 1971.

Like similar estates across NorthernIreland it was known as Tin Town. In thosedays public housing (or social housing as itbecame known in the 1990s) was for all,and indeed we had a mixture of professional people in our small estate.

I grew up in a one parent family in anarea where a strong neighbourhood andlifelong friendships developed. My mum hada great word about the ‘Trust’ and theNIHE, citing rapid responses to repairs as astrong point at that time.

How things have changed since then.Two policies led to public housing becoming more marginalised: subsidieswere transferred from the house to theperson with the introduction of housingbenefit, and rents were increased wellabove inflation.

The net effect was that the better offmoved out to buy elsewhere as this became more attractive, which in turn ledto areas with high concentrations of lowincome families.

Then we had the right to buy, introduced in the early 1980s by MargaretThatcher. Generous discounts were offered at up to 70 per cent of marketvalue and many of the better homes in themore settled areas were bought.

So why did I end up working in housing? It was by accident, really, as manyof my peers who are now in senior positions will agree. I become prominent inthe then Ulster Polytechnic Students’Union having been elected VP Welfare in1979-80, then President 1980-1981 (a diffi-cult year in particular as it was the year ofthe hunger strikes).

But one of the main issues that I hadencountered was the poor quality of

housing in the private rented sector –particularly for students. This led to myfirst job with the NIHE as a housing officerin Rathcoole and I witnessed at first-handthe better areas, such as Rushpark, beingsold off through the right to buy.

I was lucky to be sent on a course atColeraine to study for my professionalhousing qualification with the CharteredInstitute of Housing.

As part of my studies I spent time inthe London Borough of Camden in theearly 1980s and witnessed at first-hand theserious housing problems which existedthere.

Since the 1990s we have had a majorshift in housing tenures with the privaterented sector now accounting for one infive houses from around 40,000 in 1999 tonearly 130,000 today. Many of the right tobuy houses are now being rented privately.We had the frenzy to buy particularly between 2003 and 2007. Indeed, this wasthe conversation around many dinner tables with little or no thought as to theresponsibilities attached to owning andrenting property.

In 1987 I joined the University of Ul-ster at Magee running undergraduate and

postgraduate courses in housing management accredited by the CharteredInstitute of Housing.

Since then we have had a return oflocal government in NI, with the DSDNI responsible for housing. The NIHE hasstopped building new dwelling as housingassociations are now tasked with this roleborrowing half the costs from the privatesector.

In 2007 we had the major financialcrash, which was particularly felt in Northern Ireland with property pricesfalling below 50 per cent of their values,leaving many in negative equity, a term thatpeople had to become accustomed to.

The effects of the crash are still beingfelt by many.

Today we have 40,000 households onwaiting lists, 20,000 declaring themselves ashomeless and a construction industry thathas gone into freefall with output havingreduced by nearly two-thirds, producing a negative effect on a range of jobs associated with housebuilding.

Thankfully we have the NIHE and anumber of housing associations workingflat-out not only to build new social housing, but to make the housing experience for many a pleasant experience. We have advice agencies andorganisations such as Supporting Communities NI working with our localresidents to improve lives. Many of these organisations are featured in thishousing edition of VIEW.

I have been lucky in my career notonly because I have had the privilege of educating over 700 undergraduate and 300postgraduate housing students, many ofwhom are now working across the UK andIreland in housing positions, but also thepeople I have worked with nationally andinternationally all striving to make a difference to the most vulnerable in oursociety. To all of them housing matters, andI have been privileged to play a small partin the housing movement.

By guest editorPaddy GrayProfessor of HousingUlster University

I have been privileged toplay a smallpart in thehousing movement

‘’


In the wake of shocking suicide figures whichrevealed that more people in Northern Ireland have taken their lives in comparisonto those killed during the Troubles, VIEW editor Brian Pelan spoke to Professor Siobhan O’Neill, right, about the links between mental health and housing

‘’

Arecent report in the newswhich stated that more peoplehave died by suicide in the past17 years than were killed during 30 years of conflict in

Northern Ireland led me to meeting Professor Siobhan O'Neill from the UlsterUniversity.

I wanted to ask Siobhan, who is theprofessor of mental health services at theuniversity, what lies behind this grim statistic and what is the connection between mental health and housing.

We spoke over coffee in the Mac inBelfast. Amidst the hustle and bustle of coffees and food being served, Siobhan,who speaks softly but forcibly, said: “It isnot just a mental health issue. All the conditions in which a person lives – theirsocial environment – all of those things willimpact on this behavior. Suicide is an outcome of a behavior – it’s not an illness.Suicide is something that people do. Whensuicidal behaviour is related to mental illness, the death by suicide is a factor ofnot only a person’s thoughts, but whetheror not they have the capacity and themeans to enact the suicidal behaviour.

“We can design houses that are suicide safer. We can make sure that windows can’t be opened far enough, orthere aren’t any ledges high enough. In prisons and schools and university accom-modation… they are actually identifyingthis. We can remove ligature points, we canmake sure there are no beams that theperson can hang themselves from.

“Also, owning a home and your housing circumstances are so tied in to oursense of self and our pride in this culture,then losing your house or being forced totake a regressive house and move backwith your family can be seen as a failure.We can see that men for whom that happens to… it hurts them very, very deeply.”

Siobhan went on to add that “insecurity generally is a factor in suicides,

and if there was economic insecurity aboutthe living circumstances of the person thencertainly it would be. It would very rarelybe recorded in the police witness statement… it’s more about social relationships, but the housing is a symbol of that”.

“I think the cultural sense of homeownership is crucial. I think we need tomove away from that. The idea that inorder to be a successful human being, youneed to be a family unit with your ownhouse with your partner and your kids, because that is very very damaging, be-cause that model very rarely applies.

“The traditional model of the family inthe home that’s owned and paid for by theman… that doesn’t apply, but yet men stillfeel like a failure if their lives don’t matchthat model. Seventy-five per cent of sui-cides are men, and most of the people whodie by suicide are living alone. The highestproportion are living alone and a high pro-portion are unemployed.”

With her hands firmly placed on thetable, Siobhan, with anger in her voice now,goes on to say: “I’m talking about social justice – I did a TED talk on this. I’m talkingabout how we value people in different circumstances and how people are valuedand how people feel that their lives havemeaning, and part of that really is mentalillness. Most people with mental healthproblems don’t die of suicide. And ifyou’ve got somebody who feels that theirlife’s gone to pot, medication’s not going tohelp that. If the wife’s left them, they’ve hadto move back to the family home, theycan’t access their children – there are liveevent factors that are clearly critically im-portant, and financial factors.

“We see in the Republic that there’sbeen an increase in the deaths by suicide… 500 extra deaths as a result of the re-cession.

“Deprivation explains the rate. Social deprivation, poverty, economic deprivation.”

I asked Siobhan, as a possible solutionto the rise in suicides, does she support the concept of more decentsocial housing?

“Absolutely,” she replied.“We know that ghettos have

effectively been created, and you haveareas where there are lots of social disadvantage, and yet you still have tomarry that with the desire of people wanting to live in their own communities,close to their families, so we need to find asolution for that. I’m not a housing expertso I don’t know, but you need to give people a sense of purpose and hope forthe future, and give them a place to livethat reflects that. And that means believingin young people and actually giving themthe resources themselves.

“I think that welfare reform and theimplementation of welfare reform is goingto lead to more suicides in Ireland.

“Anything that helps to create meaningful lives for people who feel liketheir lives have no meaning is needed. Itcould be affordable decent housing that allows people to live in dignity.”

“Housing policy is a key part of it. Inthe context of economic policy and socialpolicy, it fits within all of those areas, butculturally we need to look at home ownership and what that means and startmoving away from that.

“In other European countries it’s completely socially acceptable to rent ahouse. In my peer group, if you didn’t owna house in the middle of the boom thenthere was something wrong with you andyou failed… you know, all that carry on has led to the high suicide rates we’ve got now.”

I firmly believe that more people andorganisations need to listen to what Siobhan is saying. We all could start bywatching her recent TED talk in Omagh,'Suicide Prevention is a Social Justice Issue'– http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Suicide-Prevention-is-a-Social;search%3AOmagh

‘’Deprivation explains the rate.Social deprivation, poverty,economic deprivation . . .


Anything thathelps to createmeaningful livesfor people whofeel like theirlives have nomeaningis needed

‘’



Cameron Watt is earnest, passionate and knowledgeableas he argues the case for social housing. The chief executive of the Northern

Ireland Federation of Housing Associationshas cast aside his past as a once rising starin Britain’s Conservative Party. Today Watt’srole is to advance the interests of ourhousing associations – and if that meanscriticising the Prime Minister, leader of hisformer party, then so be it. But more ofthat later.

A pressing consideration for manyhousing associations in Northern Ireland atpresent is whether to merge and howlarge to become. The creation of theChoice housing association, Northern Ireland’s largest, from the merger of theOakleeTrinity and Ulidia associations ismerely the most dramatic example. In recent times the number of housing associations here has fallen from nearly 50to 23, while the sector’s annual turnoverrose to £214m in the last financial year.

“Mergers have been primarily drivenby housing association boards keen to improve their capacity to borrow commercially,” explains Cameron

. “Lenders expect more from us. Overthe last three or four years, since I arrived,housing association boards have been driving the reform of our sector. Boardshave to take a long view about what structures will be required for delivery inyears to come.

“One of the big changes has beenaround sector funding; since the crash UKhousing associations have switched verylargely from bank debt to bond finance,using low cost private finance over thelong-term. Bond finance is cheaper and youget it over the longer term.

“Capital markets will lend for 25 or30-year terms, whereas most banks won’tlend for longer than 10 years. Althoughthe banks are very keen to do businesswith us – and we have very good relationships with banks such as Danskeand Barclays – associations here also wantto take advantage of the lower interestrates and longer terms they can get fromaccessing the bond markets. The capitalmarkets want scale. They don’t want tolend £10 million, they want to lend £150mor £200m.

“The changing nature of development

is also a driver. We are being asked to deliver 2,000 new homes a year. In relativeterms that is the most ambitious development programme of all four of theUK regions. We need to do things differently to sustain that: for example, by accessing land on a different scale andbeing able to do joint ventures with privatedevelopers, being involved in more holisticregeneration schemes. If you are going toget involved in those sorts of projects youhave to have a certain scale.

“I think also welfare reform and thepotential threat to housing associationbusinesses (are factors). If housing associations are bigger they may be moreresilient to the revenue threats posed bywelfare reform. With bigger scale they caninvest more in systems to manage theirbusinesses properly and also provide support to tenants, for example throughmoney advisers and financial inclusion proj-ects. I don’t think consolidation is a magicbullet, but I think scale probably will be im-portant for much of the sector to deliverwhat is needed.”

Watt plays down the idea that theprospect of a large scale transfer of Hous-ing Executive housing stock to individualhousing associations is a primary factor be-hind recent mergers. This is despite theHousing Executive specifying that associa-tions would need to become larger to ab-sorb large scale transfers.

While some housing associations haveexpressed interest in Housing Executivestock, “I think that is more of a hope thanan expectation” says Watt. He explains:

“There seems to be an increasing appetiteamong politicians that the Housing Executive housing stock be retained as asingle entity, which might be some sort ofspun off public sector quango, like thearm’s-length management organisation inEngland where councils have outsourcedmanagement of housing stock to a still-public body, or perhaps the creation ofa new mega housing association to takeover the stock. That may preclude opportunities for our members to growthrough inheriting that stock.

“I think Housing Executive rents willhave to increase significantly whether thestock is retained in the public sector orspun out to a new or existing housing association. Clearly the rents have been setat a sub-economic level for too long forreasons of political expediency. The stockhas deteriorated, making up a multi-billionpound shortfall.”

But it is also inevitable, says Watt, thathousing association rents will remainhigher than the Housing Executive’s. “Wehave not enjoyed any deficit grant fundingfrom government on rents, so we have hadto charge economic rents. The other aspect is that we have borrowed about£700m to date in bonds and that privateborrowing does need to be recoupedthrough rental income over 25 to 30 years.So we are expecting the rents of a relatively small proportion of the socialhousing stock to support all the new socialhousing supply.”

Welfare reform is a major concern forhousing associations. Housing associationsand their tenants in Northern Ireland are“fairly well protected over the next two tothree years” before the squeeze hits.In particular, the cap on social rents to restrict them to local housing allowancelevels “could have a catastrophic impact onsupported housing: sheltered accommodation for older people, hostelsand foyers for young people, supported living for people with learning difficulties –where rents are higher because the costsare higher.”

NIFHA is lobbying for exemptions tothe new rules to enable associations tocontinue to provide social care servicesand support the Northern Ireland Executive’s social care strategy, ‘Transforming Your Care’.

Several associations here also provide

the BIG interviewJournalist Paul Gosling, left, talks to Cameron Watt, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federationof Housing Associations

’‘I think Housing Executive rents will have to increase significantly . . .


welfare support services, some providingmoney advice and benefits maximisationservices, working with Citizens Advice andAdvice NI. Apex Housing Associationworks with Derry Credit Union to provideloan guarantees so tenants can avoid usingloan sharks. Clanmil provides skills trainingfor women in construction. And Brysoncharity is working with several associationsto assist with skills training and tenants’bulk buying of oil.

In England, associations have a newchallenge, with their borrowings recentlyplaced onto the public sector balancesheet after the Office for National Statistics reclassified associations as publicbodies. This is the result of greater interference from the last three governments in the running of English associations. While the ruling so far onlyapplies to England, it seems inevitable thata similar conclusion would be reached if the sector in Northern Ireland is also reviewed.

“There is the potential for ONS,should they so wish, to conduct a similarre-examination of Scottish, Welsh andNorthern Irish housing associations,” con-cedes Watt. “I imagine they would have todo each separately, because separateregimes apply… that could mean thatevery loan taken out by a housing associa-tion had to be approved by DFP (the Department of Finance and Personnel). Itcould conceivably really impact on theamount of private borrowing the sectorcould access and ultimately the number ofnew homes.”

The most recent example of government intervention in the operationsof housing associations in England has beenwith the extension of tenants’ ‘right to buy’social housing, providing large discounts ontheir market value. That policy already applies to Northern Ireland, but providesless generous discounts than in England. Watt hopes that the existing policy in Northern Ireland will be curtailed.

“I think the loss of stock through thisis relatively manageable, but having saidthat I would like to see Northern Irelandfollow the Scottish example to suspend thehouse sale scheme. With 22,000 households in housing stress and with itcosting £110,000 to build a social home -half of which is coming from government -I think social housing in Northern Irelandis too scarce a resource to be selling it off

at a discount. So we will be encouragingour politicians to consider suspending thehouse sale scheme. I think that is something DSD (Department for SocialDevelopment) is seriously going to consider now.”

This puts Watt directly at odds withDavid Cameron, who recently irritatedhousing associations when he told Parliament that associations are “part ofthe public sector that haven’t been throughefficiencies, haven’t improved their per-formance and I think it’s about time thatthey did”. Like most of the sector, Watt re-jects the characterisation and stresses heno longer has any links to the Tory Party,where he was once a researcher and wasalso a Conservative Home blogger. “I thinkDavid Cameron was very much mistaken,” says Watt.

He adds that he also strongly opposes those in his old party who advocated the privatisation of housing associations. “We are independent socialbusinesses, we are independent charities,providing a major public service. We wantto remain charitable, non-profit, organisations… I think politicians acrossthe UK have tended to think of housing as-sociations as merely delivery agents andnot as independent bodies. We have tofight hard for our complete independenceif we are to deliver what is required.”

• Paul Gosling is a freelance journalist who specialises in finance, accountancy and the public sector. He lives in Derry.

’‘We have tofight hard for ourcomplete independence

Cameron Watt is strongly opposed to the privatisation of housing associations Image: Kevin Cooper


This year marks the 45th anniversary of the setting up ofthe Housing Executive as thestrategic housing authority forNorthern Ireland. Since 1971

we have had a crucial role in transforminghomes and neighbourhoods and, importantly, people’s lives.

We have always recognised that ourhousing strategies and policies are about‘more than bricks and mortar’ and we arecommitted to developing those as weenter our fifth decade in existence.

Community and tenant involvement isat the heart of everything we do and hasbeen described as “one of the jewels in theHousing Executive’s crown” by the Customer Service Excellence Assessor.This is complemented by the organisation’scommitment to deliver top class services that make a positive difference topeople’s lives.

We operate tenant scrutiny panels,participate in residents and interagencypartnerships and engage with a wide rangeof sectors, including disability forums, ruralresidents, young people, as well as black,ethnic and minority groups. We also workwith over 600 community groups throughthe Housing Community Network

Our Community Involvement Strategyis unique to Northern Ireland and the UK.The work of our Community CohesionUnit is award-winning and in 2016 we areset to embark on rejuvenating and empowering our communities through thefacilitation and funding of social economy.

We have a proud record of supportingour local housing communities’ development and in assisting them to buildsafe, stable and cohesive neighbourhoods.To this end, the Housing Executive has progressively developed three strategies todeliver key services and address social issues within those neighbourhoods: theseare the Community Cohesion Strategy, theCommunity Safety Strategy and the Community Involvement Strategy.

We are mindful that, despite continued work by ourselves and otherstatutory and public sector bodies, many ofour neighbourhoods continue to be socially and economically disadvantaged,and excluded from the wider economy. In response, we have developed the LandlordServices’ Social Housing Enterprise Strategy to help our neighbourhoods become more self-sustaining and economically vibrant.

Social Housing Enterprises will lead toreal and sustainable changes within thosecommunities, and in the lives of the individuals and families within them by increasing inward investment, creating newand innovative self-sustaining developmentopportunities and improving life chances.They will also create employmentopportunities for those who might otherwise remain unemployed, invest incommunity-based projects, act to protector improve the local environment, and provide services which are important andaccessible for those who might not otherwise get them.

Our Regional Services are focused oninfluencing and shaping the strategic direction of housing and housing-led regeneration within Northern Ireland. Wecontinue to address the important issuesimpacting on the lives of many citizens andhelp vulnerable people, through tacklinghomelessness, delivering the SupportingPeople programme, social and affordablehousing, including co-ownership, tacklingfuel poverty and administering private sector grants.

My vision, our vision, is one in whichhousing plays its part in creating a peaceful,inclusive, prosperous and fair society. Wewill continue to work in partnership to ensure that everyone has access to a goodaffordable home in a safe and healthy community. And all of our work will be underpinned by our core values of makinga difference through fairness, passion andexpertise.

COMMENT

A proud recordClark Bailie, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, wants the organisation to play its part in creating a peaceful, inclusive, prosperous and fair society

‘’We have alwaysrecognised thatour housingstrategies andpolicies areabout morethan bricks andmortar

Social housing in Northern Ireland

£162m spent maintaining Housing Executive homes

2,013 new social homesstarted by housing associations

61%have been

Housing Executive tenants for

15 yearsor more

communitygroups involved in the Housing Community Network

1,658new social homescompleted in 2014/15

£350m Housing Executiveinvestment in local economy (2014/15)

88 estatesdeveloped good relations

11,016

61.7% owner occupied

private rented 16.5%14.6% social housing

Sources: Housing Executive 44th Annual Report & Tenant Survey 2014

347,584 people visited localHousing Executive o� ces

14sharedcommmunities developed

were accepted as

Homeless

39,338 on the waiting list

22,097 in housing stress

8,129

allocations made bythe Housing Executive and housing associationsin 2014/15

2,000+ members

27

Oil Clubs

of 19,621 people presented to the Housing Executive in 2014/15

179,000 people living in

Housing Executive homes

housing in Northern Ireland

£671mHousingBene� t

administered by the Housing Executivein Northern Ireland

600


The Housing Executive was established at the height of the Troubles to bring an impartial,

fair and unbiased approach to dealing with housing.

Throughout the conflict, the organisation has continued to deliverhousing services based on need to all sections of the community regardless ofreligion, political belief, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or race.

But, 17 years after the Good FridayAgreement was signed social housing inNorthern Ireland remains deeply segregated. Over 90 per cent of socialhousing areas remain segregated into predominantly single communities, withthe highest in urban areas in Belfast,Derry-Londonderry and Craigavon. Thisincreases to 94 per cent in Belfast.

However, despite that reality ofphysical separation, 80 per cent of peopleaspire to live in mixed neighbourhoods(Life and Times survey) but are unaware of how to go about creating a shared atmosphere.

The Housing Executive has a duty toensure that housing is provided in the basisof need and undoubtedly segregationplaces pressure on the best use of existinghousing and land. It is within this contextthat good relations has become a keyobjective of the organisation.

In 2004, the first Community Relations Strategy was published, making explicit commitment within the functionsof the Housing Executive’s business to promote good relations and incorporaterace relations.

This month the organisation willlaunch its Community Cohesion Strategy2015-2020, underpinning its overarchingaims and objectives and building upon itsachievements of the last 10 years.

The Housing Executive’s CommunityCohesion Unit is charged with translatingthe community relations objectives intoactions on the ground through its latest

strategy, which will be delivered acrossfive themes:• Residential segregation/Integration• Flags, emblems, sectional symbols• Race Relations• Interfaces• Communities in Transition

All work undertaken through thestrategy will reflect the overall aims ofOFMDFM’s Together: Building a UnitedCommunity (TBUC) strategy.

The Housing Executive’s Head ofCommunities, Jennifer Hawthorne, said:“Good relations is not a new concept tothe Housing Executive and we have awealth of experience dealing with these issues. It is timely to reflect on the cohesion work we have undertaken andensure our strategy is fit for purpose inthe coming years.

“We will deliver this strategy and continue to build on our strong trackrecord and strive for excellence within thefields of statutory provision and promotionof community cohesion.

“This strategy demonstrates our commitment to challenging a segregatedsociety and promotes an ethos of respect,equity and trust for everyone.”

• Visit the Northern IrelandHousing Executive website atwww.nihe.gov.uk/index.htm

Housing Executivecommitted tochallenging our segregated society

Timely: Jennifer Hawthorne


CASE STUDY:Cuba Walk, EastBelfast

The Housing Executivewas approached by community representatives in eastBelfast to reimage aparamilitary mural inorder to build good relations and goodrace relations. The former UFF mural hasbeen replaced by imagery depicting theTitanic and its enduring connectionsto the area

Image:The new mural,which replaced a paramilitary one

The Community Cohesion team at the Housing Executive


CatherineMcDaidwith her two-year-oldtoddler Téagan


Distressing living conditions haveleft Catherine McDaid, 19,mother of two-year-old toddlerTéagan, suffering from

depression and anxiety. Discarded heroin needles litter the

street outside the Belfast apartment whereshe currently shares a bed with hermother, two feet from Téagan’s cot. It isalso home to Catherine’s brother, hermother’s carer.

“I have anxiety, depression, I go tocounselling. I can’t sleep. My doctor wrotea letter to the Housing Executive saying hewas worried about my mental wellbeing.

“I would take a house anywhere that’ssecure, safe and where my child will behappy, so give me a decent house, and if it’ssuitable I’ll take it.”

Sean Brady, a development workerwith Participation and Practice of Rights(PPR), a Belfast-based group set up by thelate trade unionist and human rights activist Inez McCormack, said housing wasan “equality issue”.

PPR has successfully campaigned torehouse families from rundown towerblocks and in 2012 launched the ‘EqualityCan’t Wait’ campaign with north

Belfast residents. He said Catholic areaswere “rife with wastelands that werezoned for housing 10 years ago”, and whileProtestant areas had more available housing, “many Protestant families have been placed in extremely poor living conditions”.

“It is the entire system that needs anoverhaul,” he said

Another woman with two children,37-year old ‘Nuala’ (who did not want her

real name used) had been homeless andwas rehoused by a housing association inBelfast, but said it was a mixed blessing asshe claimed the property was riddled withdamp. Nuala got visibly upset when shetold this reporter: “It got to a point where we had to choose between food, heatingand electricity.” She has made the house ahome for her children but damp lingeredin the air and the bathroom walls hadcracks due to water damage.

Several thousand people are on thewaiting list for houses in Belfast.

Sean said: “There is no one person toblame; there is money to build, there island to build on, demand is high.”

The ‘Equality Can’t Wait’ campaign, made up of homeless families living in hostels and substandard accommodation in Belfast, has deliveredresearch on available land and money to tackle the housing crisis toelected representatives.

The question is how long will motherslike Catherine and ‘Nuala’ have to wait forpoliticians to take action?

I have anxiety, depression, Igo to counselling. I can’t sleep’‘

In March 2015 the social housing waiting list inNorthern Ireland amounted to 39,338 households (according to NI Housing Executive figures). Journalist Ciara Lawn talks to twowomen in Belfast about their ongoing housing issues Image: Hannah Mitchell

Equality issue: PPR workerSean Brady

Twitter: @PPR_Org


For over 50 years Housing Rightshas been providing advice, advocacy and representation services to people across Northern Ireland to people who

are homeless or in housing need. Last yearwe provided direct help which preventedhomelessness and improved the housing situation of around 10,000 familiesand individuals.

In 2016 concern around affordabilitycontinues to be a huge issue for our clientsregardless of which sector of the housingmarket they live in.

Around one in five households inNorthern Ireland now lives in the privaterented sector and issues relating to affordability in this sector are actually thefastest growing area of enquiry to our advice line.

For many of our clients this is nottheir tenure of choice but the default; either because they cannot afford to owntheir own home or because the socialrented sector does not have the capacityto meet their housing need.

Whilst welcome first steps have beentaken to regulate the private rented sector,the 13,000 calls our advisers took last yearfrom people living in this sector remind usthat there is much still to be done.

Between April and December of lastyear for example, just over half (52 percent) of those tenants who contacted ushad unprotected deposits, despite the regulations which currently exist.

Unregulated letting agent fees and difficulties faced by people struggling tomake up the shortfall in local housing allowance and their rent are also commonin this sector.

Housing Rights is hopeful that the cur-rent review of the sector will addresssome of these issues in this sector, espe-cially since it is being increasingly relied upon to mitigate problems in othersections of the housing market.

Within the social housing sector, concerns around the impact of the implementation of welfare reform, includ-ing the social sector size criteria, continueto dominate the policy landscape.

At writing, there remains a lack ofclarity around the actual administration ofthe mitigation package recommended bythe Evason Working Group.

Housing Rights is also mindful that ifthe NI regulations mirror those elsewherein the UK, it is likely that only certain serv-ice charges will be eligible to be covered inthe new housing payment element of Universal Credit.

This could lead to claimants having tomake an increased contribution on theirown part towards their housing costs, withthe risk of making it more difficult for certain people to sustain their tenancies.Housing Rights believes this will have a disproportionate impact on people currently living in supported housing, manyof whom are already vulnerable.

For homeowners contacting us for mortgage debt advice, early access to Sup-port for Mortgage Interest payments,alongside specialist support and advice, arecritical in keeping people in their homes.

We are therefore strongly opposed tothe current proposal to increase the wait-ing time for access to this benefit from 13weeks to 39 weeks.

In practical terms, this triples thetime people will have to wait for assis-tance, and for many this help will come toolate.

Housing Rights has encouraged government to look again at this proposaland to consider options, particularly giventhe bleak prognosis contained in the Housing Repossession Taskforce report, toameliorate the impact for the many localpeople who it predicts will be struggling to keep up mortgage repayments on their home.

COMMENT

Providing a helping handJanet Hunter, Director of Housing Rights, saysissues around affordability continue to be aproblem for clients in NI regardless of whichsector of the housing market they live in

‘’There remains alack of clarityaround the actualadministration ofthe mitigationpackage recommended bythe Evason Working Group

With 3,000 staff, turnover of £214 million and a £3.4 billion asset base, housing associations areNorthern Ireland’s largest charities and social enterprises. Our housing associations manage47,000 homes, provide care & support and a rangeof community services.

At a time of unprecedented change, housing associations rely on voluntary board members toprovide effective strategic leadership, oversight and challenge to their increasingly complexbusinesses. It is a substantial role, but one that brings benefits including developing new skills andnetworks, as well as making a social impact.

We are looking for high-calibre individuals who are interested in serving on housing associationboards. As well as strong generalists, people with skills in developing new homes, care & support,procurement, law, governance and communications are particularly needed.

Contact the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations on 028 9023 0446 to discussthis opportunity or to learn more and register your interest (with no obligation), please visitnifha.org/join-a-board/

Board Members Wanted

www.nifha.org


Brid Ruddy in one of thepicturesque alleyways, offCollege Park Avenue, insouth Belfast


The Wildflower Alley in south Belfast has beenone of the Holylands’ most successful regeneration projects. In an area blighted with anumber of social and housing problems, thetransformation of some of its alleyways into a

feast of colour, hanging baskets and benches has beenpraised by many people.

The group behind it, the College Park Avenue Residents Association, has now embarked on a campaign, inconjunction with Queen’s University Students’ Union toget landlords who have properties in the area to be regis-tered on the Landlord Registration Scheme.

According to Brid Ruddy, chairperson of the residentsassociation, “many of the landlords can remain anonymous,unlike in England, Scotland and Wales”.

Ms Ruddy said that her group had taken a survey ofthe surrounding area and found that many of the properties were not linked to any particular landlord when

they carried out a search on the registration scheme. “There is massive under-registration of landlords in

this area,” she claimed.“Large parts of this area have been taken over by

private landlords. We are the remaining hub of the community and we want to maintain and develop a community.”

Ms Ruddy has lived in the area for 25 years.Queen’s Students’ Union community officer Paul

Loughran said: “With the help of two local south Belfast residents, I’ve researched 1,500 houses in the Holylandsarea and worryingly found that 52.6 per cent of relevant properties were not registered on the Landlord Registration Scheme (a legal requirement).

“I have submitted research to Belfast City Councilwho have committed to going through the 600 ‘offendinghouses’ and ensuring, through their own research andhome visits, that all these houses will be pursued.”

Standing up for residents


Eighteen years after the Good Fri-day Agreement, social housing in Northern Ireland issegregated on sectarian lines as aconsequence of the conflict. De-

spite millions in peace money pumped intothe state, this is normalised. In stark con-trast, the owner occupied and privaterented sectors are mixed.

Over the past number of yearsClanmil has worked with the Housing Executive to develop social housing thatoffers a choice for people who wish to livein shared housing.

In setting out on this work, nearly 10years ago now, it seemed right to beginwithin existing shared neighbourhoods andtwo of our housing developments – TheCurzon on Belfast's Ormeau Road andCauseway Meadows in Lisburn – were among the first sharedhousing schemes.

The Together: Building a United Community Strategy, launched in 2013, seta new challenge from OFMDFM to extendthe work on shared housing, shared spaceand shared education as platforms to helpbuild a lasting peace.

Ten new developments have nowbeen identified as potential shared futureschemes including our development atFelden in Newtownabbey. The housing association movement in Northern Irelandis responding to the challenge.

Our critics castigate such efforts as“social engineering”. However, was it notthe worst kind of social engineering thatresulted in the forced migration of thepopulation of Northern Ireland into singleidentity communities in the early Seven-ties? Clanmil offers a choice to those whoneed a home and provides a safe space tolive and raise families. There are no quotasto achieve a mixed community. We allocatehomes based on housing need.

And what is striking is the huge needfor social housing, especially in the greaterBelfast area. This human need, and the resulting competition for homes, in itself results in pressure on the allocation of scarce resources.

Our experience is that the peoplemoving into our shared future developments welcome the opportunity tolive in a mixed community. Their priorityis a home in a safe environment and theywelcome shared spaces.

The key consideration here is that society is changing. The number of peoplefrom ethnic groups living in Northern Ireland has doubled since the Good FridayAgreement, adding a further dynamic toour community.

People in mixed relationships need asafe and shared space to live and raisetheir families. We have seen heartening examples of how these changes are developing new and progressive perspectives on our future.

Local young people responded to sec-tarian graffiti at Felden by voicing theirwholehearted support for a shared neigh-bourhood in a video they made.

Shared space and life is a good thingand the housing association movement ispioneering shared housing in NorthernIreland. This is not easy and not withoutchallenges, and we accept that it may welltake generations to achieve the desired impact from peace building, good relationswork and sharing our spaces. However, wehave a duty to do all we can to supportthose who aspire to live in a safe andshared space that is welcoming to all. We believe that shared housing can make areal, meaningful and lasting difference andthis is what Clanmil is about.

COMMENT

Twitter: @ClanmilHousing

Vision of hopeColette Moore, Group Director of Housing atClanmil Housing, explains why shared housingin Northern Ireland can make a real, meaningfuland lasting difference to people’s lives

‘’We accept that itmay well takegenerations toachieve the desired impact frompeace building,good relationswork and sharingour spaces


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Homeless man Jonathan Corriedied in a Dublin city doorway,metres from the Dail wherepoliticians had been grapplingwith the growing

homelessness and housing crisis. This tragedy on the first day of winter

in 2014 sparked a national outcry as wellas a short-term response from the government as it sought to deal with thewider issue of housing supply.

Not enough homes had been built inthe years since the housing market crashto keep up with demand, leading to rises in private rents, house prices and ultimately homelessness.

Of course, Mr Corrie’s tragic circumstances highlight how homelessnessis not just about a lack of bricks and mortar. In the days following his death, hisfamily and charities told his story includingof accommodation that was offered as he battled a substance addiction.

In many cases people who are homeless have complex needs and require support to maintain their housing. So whileit’s not the whole picture, housing doesand should come first.

Homelessness is the most acute symptom of too few homes built and it’s avisible one in cases of street homelessness(though more often homelessness is hidden). Rapidly rising house prices are another visible symptom, putting buying ahome out of reach for many people as wellas having knock-on effects on the housingmarket and our economic health.

Housing in Ireland is generally affordable for two-earner couples on average incomes, but for those living inDublin it’s a different story.

Northern Ireland has so far avoidedthe distressing effects seen in Dublin, or indeed in London. It claims the lowest average first-time buyers’ deposit in the

UK and the lowest typical price for astarter home. Social and private rents arelow compared with many major cities, andthere are low levels of street homelessnessin Belfast compared with Dublin.

Nevertheless, complacency should beavoided – more than 11,000 new homesare needed every year, while only aroundhalf that number have been built for sometime.

A ministerial ‘housing supply forum’was launched to help find ways of increasing the amount of housing built inNorthern Ireland, and I was invited to participate. Land supply, capacity and planning issues are the main barriers to development and we need government-ledinitiatives to break these barriers down.

Published in January 2016, the forum’sreport recommend 10 practical measuresfor the short-term which, if introduced,could help unblock house-building.

One of the biggest barriers to newhousing is land supply.

Publicly-held land should play agreater role in housing delivery, and one ofthe report’s major recommendations promotes the idea of setting targets forthe release of public land. A recommendation with more teeth wouldinvolve compulsory purchase orders oreven a land tax to disincentivise land-banking, but if the current recommendation is introduced effectivelywe could see more land released formuch-needed housing.

Ultimately, the goal for housing professionals and policy makers alike mustbe to make sure we’re building enoughhomes to keep up with our growing population – to avoid damaging social and economic consequences for all our citizens.

COMMENT

Twitter: @JustinCIH

Demand and supplyWe must make sure that we are building enoughhouses, argues Justin Cartwright, Policy andPublic Affairs Manager for the Chartered Institute of Housing Northern Ireland

‘’More than11,000 newhomes areneeded everyyear, while onlyaround half thatnumber havebeen built forsome time

VIEW, Issue 35, 2016 www.viewdigital.org VIEW, Issue 35, 2016

Belfast Central Mission (alsoknown as BCM) celebrates its127th year in 2016. We were setup in 1889 by the MethodistChurch in a response to inner

city poverty and deprivation in Belfast. At the time BCM provided hot meals

to the homeless, refuge, and respite holidays to children living in poverty. Itsaim was to “support those who need itmost” regardless of class, colour or creed.

Over 125 years on, BCM has developed a programme of diverse socialcare projects and today offers services inBelfast, North Down, Newtownards andthe Armagh/Dungannon and the surrounding areas.

We believe that each individual shouldhave the opportunity to reach their full po-tential whatever their age or circumstanceand in keeping with BCM’s ethos we workfor the development of the whole person,body, mind and spirit.

Current projects support over 800people a year and include: support forolder people in our communities such asresidential accommodation and HousingSupport, befriending and tea dances; support for families including Parent Support and the Christmas Support Programme and support for young peopleincluding supported accommodation for

care leavers, and Housing Support services. I am the Project Manager of BCM’s

Housing Support and Parent Support services in Dungannon. Since its opening in2006 I have worked with many 16 to 25-year-olds to help them secure accommodation and learn the skills they need to live independently in the community.

With Housing Support we can work

with 67 service users at any one time offering a ‘floating support’ service. Eachservice user has a dedicated supportworker to help develop independent livingskills and focus on finding safe, secure, af-fordable accommodation.

It’s so important to help them furnishand decorate their accommodation tomake it into a welcoming home. We alsoencourage young people into work or to attend educational courses as well aslearning practical skills such as budgeting,cooking and cleaning routines, and how tobe a good neighbour.

Our service users can become homeless for many reasons such as familybreakdown, domestic violence, leavingcare, addiction issues, debt and anti-socialbehaviour, but support is tailored to everyindividual’s needs.

• For more information pleasecontact Joanne McCourt, ProjectManager on 028 8775 0175 or [email protected]

Please also see our website formore information on how to receive support or become a volunteer –www.belfastcentralmission.org

Joanne McCourt, Project Manager for the BCM Housing Supportfor Young People and Parent Support at Sunny Side House inDungannon, Co.Tyrone, tells VIEW readers, about the project

Our serviceusers can become homeless formany reasons

‘’BCM housing support users and staff

Care in the community


With homelessness in the Republicof Ireland now reaching unprecedented levels and rents

approaching rates not seen since theheight of the Celtic Tiger, the introductionof a new national strategy for the privaterented sector is now an absolute requirement and should be a priority forwhatever government is elected in theforthcoming general election.

There can be no return to ‘business asusual’ when it comes to meeting the needs of the increasing number of people who have homes in the privaterented sector.

Threshold has welcomed a number ofinitiatives announced by the government inNovember 2015, including what is in effecta rent freeze for two years and the introduction of a Deposit ProtectionScheme under which deposits will be heldby the Private Residential Tenancies Board.These measures will offer a welcome levelof relief for hard-pressed tenants, but theywill also provide space to develop a comprehensive strategy for the privaterented sector.

More Irish people are renting todaythan at any time since the 1950s.

These family homes need a level ofprotection and stability that is sorely lack-ing at the moment.

A shift is needed from reliance on am-ateur landlords, with just one or two prop-erties, who are focused on short-termgains if we are to achieve a stable and well-managed private rented sector.

While traditional landlords will con-tinue to play a valuable role, we need asector with more professional, well-re-sourced landlords who are interested inlong-term income returns.

A comprehensive strategy for the private rented sector is needed to tacklesuch issues as security of tenure, long-term

rent certainty, quality of rented housing,promoting the supply of affordable rentedaccommodation and dealing with difficulties in the buy-to-let sector.

Also, as most (75,000) of the new social housing units will be sourced in theprivate rented sector, the success of thegovernment’s Social Housing Strategy 2020depends on modernising the privaterented sector.

The essential elements of such a strategy would address issues like long-term rent certainty beyond the current ‘rent freeze’, increasing affordablesupply, improving the quality of rentedhousing, promoting affordable supply anddealing with the difficulties in the buy-to-let sector.

Without rent certainty, for example, tenants still face a risk of homelessness and landlords will still face uncertainty with regard to their rental income.

Without realistic limits of Rent Supplement and Housing Assistance Payment (state supports for tenants inrented accommodation) which reflect current market rents, families will be un-able to pay for housing.

Tenants’ rights are often ignored whenreceivers are appointed or when lendersseek to repossess a mortgaged propertythat is being rented.

To address this issue a change to thelaw is needed to protect tenants and en-sure their rights are respected.

Moreover the current four-yearmodel of security of tenure must be reviewed to ensure indefinite tenancies be-come the norm. One in five Irish familieslives in private rented housing and it is longpast time we introduced a framework thatsupports that.

COMMENT

Twitter: @Aideen_Hayden

Protecting our tenantsThe introduction of a new national strategy forthe private rented sector in the Republic is nowan absolute requirement, argues Aideen Hayden,Chairperson of Irish housing charity Threshold

‘’One in five Irishfamilies lives inprivate rentedhousing and it islong past timewe introduced aframework thatsupports that

“

www.viewdigital.org

Paddy McIntyre, ex-chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and (inset) in his younger days

Some people that I interview aretense and others are extremely relaxed. Paddy McIntyre, the former chief executive of theNorthern Ireland Housing

Executive (NIHE), easily fell into the latter category. It also helped that we are bothardent supporters of Manchester United,despite the club’s recent tribulations.

Over cups of coffee and as the time drifted by, Paddy reflected on his timein the NIHE, from his early involvement inthe 1970s to later taking over at the helmof the organisation.

“I can remember when I applied for atrainee job in the organisation, I was toldby a teacher friend of my parents that I’dnever get a job in there because I’m aCatholic, but it was one of the most neutral places you could have worked in.

“I started off working in Derry in1971. I collected the rent and can remember at times also being robbed of the rent.”

Paddy was employed during a periodof major civil unrest in Northern Ireland.

“I worked for the Housing Executiveduring the rent and rate strike, the outbreak of the troubles, Bloody Sunday happened outside our office when I wasworking there, and also Operation Motorman (a large-scale operation carried

out by the British Army in Northern Ireland in 1972 with the aim of retaking‘no-go areas’).These are just some of themajor events that I can recall.”

He also talked about the nature of theHousing Executive in its early days.

“We probably would have been seenas a nationalist-orientated organisation bysome people, so we had political difficulties. We were also taking on boardsomething like 60 local authorities’ housingdepartments, so there would have been alot of tension between those who werecoming from a local authority and thosepeople who had come from the HousingTrust, which would have viewed itself as amore professional type of housing organisation. There was a lot of tensionjust about assimilating people into this one body.

“I was appointed as a district managerin Derry. I was 24 years of age at the timeand I had to manage 25 people. I had nomanagerial experience.

“A lot of that was to do with the factit was quite hard to get people to comeand work in Derry at the time as it was

seen as the ‘wild west’, I guess. “I love the city and still go back to it

quite a bit. I also played a lot of soccer,which was a good way of making connections if you had come in from theoutside. By 1978 or 1979, the Housing Executive, once it got over its initial teething problems, settled down and started to deliver loads of new housing.

“I moved to Belfast in 1979 to work inthe Housing Executive’s main office andstarted a diploma in Social Policy and Planning in the Ulster Polytechic in Jordanstown, Co Antrim.”

Paddy was eventually to lead theHousing Executive from 1999 to 2010. “Weput an awful lot of effort into improvingthe quality of service.”

Since his ‘retirement’, Paddy has kepthimself active by working with a number of charities and indulging his loveof football.

He has attended several World Cup tournaments and has made plans to attend this year’s European Championshipsin France.

We parted company outside a cafe inBelfast. As the light fell, I watched as Paddyambled his way into the distance. He is agenial man with many housing stories and Ihad only heard a few of them.

Remembrance of Things PastBy Brian Pelan,VIEW editor


How did you get involved in theIrish Housing Network?

I suppose I was as much a founder as I gotinvolved in the Irish Housing Network. Igot involved in housing organising as partof the campaign Housing Action Now inautumn 2014. Housing Action Now begana process of pulling together a fragmentedbut growing grassroots housing campaign. Voluntary soup kitchens, motherson social housing waiting lists, radical social workers and community activistshad all begun a housing fightback and we together formed the Irish Housing Network.

What are your main objectives?

Simply the provision of decent housing forall, regardless of income. This seemslike a simple and almost common sensedemand, but in the face of an economiccrisis in the Republic and a housing ideology which puts profit before need,this is a radical objective.

Can you tell me something about

your campaign around Bolt Hostelin Dublin?

After the Irish Housing Network was established in May 2015 we were seeing aflood of desperate housing cases, thehomeless services were basically at breaking point. We were involved in a number of occupations. These ‘occupations’ were followed by a big actionat the Bolt Hostel. It was a former DublinCity Council homeless shelter left emptyfor three years. We took it over, asked forhelp from volunteers to restore it andbegan housing homeless people. It was anextraordinary grassroots effort and received praise and support from wideranging quarters. It was ended by HighCourt action taken by Dublin City Councilwhich forced us out.

How would you describe thehousing situation in the Republic?

Terrible, multiple interlinked crises have hitalmost simultaneously. The most recentchild homeless figure is 1,571, it hastrebled in two years. Forty families a week

are being made homeless. Rents have massively risen and there is an ongoingmortgage debt problem. The governmenthave compounded this crisis or even hasbeen a key cause of this crisis with theirdecision to effectively eliminate the socialhousing budget and a range of community supports. The Irish state has the capacityto provide housing. It has instead pushedthe most drastic Right-wing shift in housing policy in the history of the stateand a time of unprecedented need The network itself is seeing on average 100cases a week, from evictions, to rent in-creases, to overcrowding and poor livingconditions, to homelessness. We are doingwhat we can to keep many people in theirhomes, but we are a small (but growing)barrier against a flood.

What are the main steps that youwould like to see happen?

A ban on economic evictions, rent controland rent regulation, handing over and putting to use state land, assets and capitalto renovation vacant buildings and a largescale social building program to go with it.

Q&AVIEWdigital asks Irish Housing Networkspokesperson Seamus Farrell about thehousing crisis in the Republic of Irelandand what they are doing to tackle it


Community resources and supports tomatch the provision of housing.

Has the current coalition government done enough to address the issue of homelessness?

No, as mentioned already, they have deeplycompounded the existing problems, andare in fact driving up homelessness withtheir policy decisions. They are pushing fullprivatisation of the housing sector. Even ifwe were not ideologically opposed, thissimply cannot pragmatically work. The market cannot provide enough wellplanned and supported housing to meet need.

Will you be making any demands of political parties in theFebruary 26 general election?

We are hoping to ask candidates and parties to sign up to an election pledgebased on our demands. Otherwise we will

making our demands heard through ouractions to help those in housing crisis andwe be asking parties and candidates topublically support our actions from oursupport groups and food provision to ourdirect action.

What type of supply is needed –private housing, social housing orboth?

We fundamentally have an affordability crisis, which is being spun as a general supply crisis. We need affordable supply. Sopredominately social housing is what is needed.

What sort of support are you get-ting from the public?

Massive support from the public. The BoltHostel support was wide ranging, our anti-poverty soup runs and support groupsget huge support too. There is a certainclass divide in how active the support is.

Large parts of Ireland have been scared bythe austerity and housing issues are very immediate, these are predominantly working class communities. They very actively support us. More comfortable sectors, who are seeing some stability inthe last year, their support is more passive.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of housing needs?

I don’t think the housing crisis is goingaway; in many ways it is a permanent crisisfor large sways of Irish society. The government and establishment are aggressively moving the opposite way fromwhat’s needed: stable, affordable housingbased on need. It is going to be a longstruggle, but we are ever increasingly readyfor it.

‘’The Irish state has the capacity toprovide housing. It has insteadpushed the most drastic Right-wing shift in housing policyin the history of the state and at a time of unprecedented need

www.facebook.com/irish-housingnetwork

An Irish HousingNetwork protest inDublin and (below)spokesperson Seamus Farrell


The private rented sector in the UKhas more than doubled in sizeover the last 20 years and nowhouses a fifth of the population,

more than live in the social sector. There are some households for whom

private renting has clear advantages —young people moving on from university,mobile professionals who don’t know howlong they’ll stay, house hunters trying aneighbourhood on for size.

But many other types of household,including families with children and thosewanting long-term homes, have no optionbut to live in the PRS. So is the growth ofthe sector a success story for private rent-ing, or a failure of home ownership and so-cial renting?

Are there lessons we can learn fromother countries about how to make thesector work better?

Private renting in Germany is oftenregarded as a model: about half of Germanhouseholds rent privately, and in Berlin theproportion is close to 90 per cent.

Tenancies are indefinite (and in somecircumstances can even be inherited) andare unaffected by sale of the dwelling.

Except in a few cities, there is no limiton the initial rent, but for existing tenantsrents can only be raised in line with average rents in the local area. So in fact private renting has some of the key benefits of owner-occupation in this country: security of tenure and certaintyabout expenditure. Because of that manytenants, including those with children, regard their rented apartments as perma-nent homes.

But while this may be attractive forthose looking for stability, the Germanmodel has downsides for the types of

household who are well-served by ourcurrent system. Because tenancies are indefinite, landlords (like here mostly private individuals) are extremely selectiveabout who they rent to: the search processcan take months. Tenants are responsiblenot only for small repairs but also for furnishing and equipping their homes —rented apartments often come withoutlight fixtures or kitchens.

The German system has worked wellfor decades not only because of what it offers tenants, but also because of what itoffers landlords. Here is another crucialdifference: in the UK, especially in high-costareas, small private landlords look for return in the form of capital appreciationrather than rental income. But in much ofGermany real house prices haven’t risenfor many years, so landlords look for long-term rental yield. Having stable tenants and low voids suits them.

This sort of system works very well inGermany, but we have a different housingmarket, mortgage system and legal framework. Even so, there is growing momentum behind calls for longer tenancies and some controls on rent increases within the tenancy (this is alreadyhappening in Scotland with the new PrivateRented Tenancies Bill).

This would improve the lot of tenantslooking for long-term stable homes butwouldn’t help those looking for short-termhousing, and landlords will be unenthusiastic. It’s not enough to knowhow policies work in other countries; thedifficult part is predicting how they willwork in our own.

COMMENT

Twitter: @KathJScanlon

Is going Deutsch worth it?Kath Scanlon, research fellow at the LondonSchool of Economics, examines whether the German private rental model would work in theUnited Kingdom and what are the downsides

‘’It’s not enoughto know howpolicies work inother countries;the difficult partis predictinghow they willwork in our own

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Concrete slabs dropped fromon high, brutal high-rise tow-ers and dark alleyways that area gift to criminals and drugdealers.” That was how David

Cameron characterised the 100 English“sink estates” that he plans to transformwith £140 million of public money.

According to Cameron, almost 75 per cent of the 2,138 people convictedafter the 2011 riots came from these estates. He intends to “transform” them either by “knocking them down and starting again” or by making “changes tolayout, upgrading facilities and improvinglocal road and transport links”.

Not surprisingly his plan has beengreeted with a degree of scepticism. Thefirst obstacle is the right to buy. Up to 30per cent of homes on these estates havebeen sold and owners will need to becompensated.

On a typical estate of 500 homes inLondon around 100 will have been sold, sothat will mean finding at least £25m beforeany demolition takes place. Given that so-cial rents in England will be cut for thenext four years, any regeneration will notbe funded by income from social rentedhomes alone. That means a huge “crosssubsidy” will be required from new homesfor market sale and rent, leading to a signif-icant reduction in social rented homes. Thiswill worsen the hollowing out process ininner London as people on low incomesare forced outwards.

Cameron suggests that many “sink estates” create crime, but this is a determinist view of human behaviour, viewing people like laboratory rats whosehabits and prospects will be changed byknocking down walkways or changing layouts. Past experience shows that this isa simplistic approach.

Many commentators take the view

that social problems and poverty are notcaused by design but by deeper structuralproblems such as education and employment opportunities. What’s more,housing policy over the past 40 years hastended to concentrate poverty into ashrinking stock of social housing, a processthat is akin to distilling an increasingly powerful alcohol.

The “sink estates” initiative has beendriven by pressure group Create Streets,who want to reconnect estates with theirsurrounding network of streets, and byAlex Morton, the former think tank policywonk who is Downing Street’s housing andplanning adviser. Morton believes not onlythat there is too much social housing butthat it creates welfare dependency, as youcan tell from this quote by DavidCameron. “Some of (our housing estates),especially those built just after the war, areactually entrenching poverty in Britain –isolating and entrapping many of our families and communities.”

The notion of rebuilding estatessounds simple but all over London thereare examples of major estate redevelopments that have hit problems,beset by public protest and active opposition, mainly due to forced decanting and the loss of genuinely affordable housing.

Ominously, David Cameron says thatmany past schemes stalled because of“local politics and tenants’ concerns aboutwhether regeneration would be donefairly”. That suggests a new set of rules tospeed up the process and a lesser role forcommunity engagement.

You can be sure that the process ofregenerating “sink estates” is unlikely toproceed smoothly.

COMMENT

Twitter: @colinwiles

Sinking in contradictionsDavid Cameron’s £140m plan to transform ‘poor’housing estates throughout England has beengreeted with a degree of scepticism, says housing consultant Colin Wiles

‘’This is a deterministview of humanbehaviour, viewing peoplelike laboratoryrats whosehabits andprospects willbe changed byknocking downwalkways orchanging layouts

“


‘’I am an educated fighting feminist,ready for most challenges. I try tostay angry and keep battling. But truthfully, beneath that anger I am terrified of spending myold age without security of tenure, with my savings gone, in an area where I know nobody

Pay to Stay proposessocial housing tenantswho earn over£30,000 per household (£40,000 in

London) pay rent reflectingmarket rates. In parts of theUK rental prices are now so inflated that council rents andsome housing association oneswill double.

It’s a steel-toothed povertytrap that seems designed toforce us all into buying, but cruelly ignores the fact we olderworking tenants can’t.

Hundreds of thousands ofus have steadily paid rent fordecades while raising families inmixed tenure neighbourhoods.We are the people keepingeverything going as nurses,cleaners, teaching assistants,working in manual trades, in retail, childcare, health and so-cial care, transport and themanufacturing industries. It isnot our fault private rents arenow at insane levels.

In 2013 I founded a socialenterprise where low incomewomen design and sell highquality goods. It is up and readyfor the participants to run itthemselves, and I’m returningto full-time community work.Our household will tip into payto stay territory. My rent could

rise to £400 a week.I firstmoved to west London in 1975when I was 21. This area was anotorious slum, the houseswere damp, cold and shabby butit was a wonderful, creative,raffish place to be. Now thegentrification has crept up thehill from Kensington. Our li-brary is going, to be leased to aprivate school. The laun-derette’s turned into an estateagent, the pubs into “luxury flats”. Property is seenas an investment and thepoorer residents are in the way.

Clearly, at 62, I cannot get amortgage anywhere in the UK.Should I give up work and liveon my tiny retirement savings,to retain my tenancy?

My young adult son liveswith me. He has his first

permanent job since graduating,earning £19k a year. He cannotyet afford a private rent or deposit. Pay to stay will scupperhis attempts to save.

In 1987 I lived in a housingco-op. I was a mental healthsupport worker and an interimfoster carer for a fragile,adorable little girl whose mumsometimes struggled to cope.When I was asked to foster full-time I asked the nearest housing trust for a two-bedplace; within six weeks I be-came a tenant. The social contract was clear. I would workin useful jobs for average wagesand rent affordable housing forlife. This was normal and carried no stigma.

I have paid out far more formy housing than the home-owning neighbours whoalso arrived in the area in the1970s. But unlike them I cannotbenefit from the exorbitant risein house prices and move.

I am an educated fightingfeminist, ready for most chal-lenges. I try to stay angry andkeep battling.

But truthfully, beneath thatanger I am terrified of spendingmy old age without security oftenure, with my savings gone, inan area where I know nobody.Where are we expected to go?

Elizabeth Spring

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• FILM PRODUCTION

• VIDEO FOR THE WEB

• AUDIO FOR THE WEB

• WEBSITE DESIGN

• WORDPRESS

For further details contact: BRIAN PELAN e: [email protected]

view issue 35 (housing)

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