Feb 06

Government promises to do more for those who rent

Do you rent? Take a look at this…

The government is promising to do more for those who rent their homes, it is set to unveil its housing strategy for England this week.

Housing Minister Gavin Barwell has said there would be minimum tenancies put into place and more homes built for rent.

He also stated that the government has not given up on making home ownership a reality for all.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on the matter that the current rental market was “incapable of giving people the security they need”.

Gavin Barwell was speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme when he said a package of measures will be in the White Paper that is set to be published on Tuesday.

The measures included will encourage more investment into building homes for affordable rent, this is defined as at least 20 per cent below the current market rate. As well as this, councils are being encouraged to get more involved.

There are currently an estimated 4.3m tenants in the private rental market.

Barwell said: “Whether you’re trying to buy or you’re trying to rent, housing in this country has become less and less affordable because for 30 or 40 years’ governments have not built enough homes and this White Paper is fundamentally trying to do something about that,”