One month left to have your say on London’s housing crisis
Residents who want to submit their ideas for helping Hackney Council and its partners tackle the capital’s housing crisis have one month left to take part in its Housing Strategy consultation.
The draft strategy sets out how Hackney and its partners can play their part in responding to residents’ concerns about increasingly unaffordable rents and house prices in the borough.
The Council wants to know what people think about ideas like increasing the number of Council homes built in the borough, expanding enforcement against rogue landlords, and campaigning against damaging Government reforms – before it starts work on a more detailed strategy in the next few months.
Housing affordability was the top concern for people who responded to the Council’s Hackney: A Place For Everyone consultation last year, with many saying that the private market increasingly did not cater for anyone apart from the wealthiest.
The borough’s house prices have risen more than anywhere else in the country during the last 20 years, with the average price of a flat now around £546,000 – 17 times the earnings of the average household. Rents in the private sector have risen 36% in five years – with a two-bedroom flat now costing £1,820 per month on average.
We can only take the right action to tackle the housing crisis and help more families access genuinely affordable homes if we know what residents think our priorities should be.
We know finding an affordable place to live is the top concern of people living in our borough, and I’m clear that London only succeeds when those who contribute to its economy and culture can afford to live in the capital.
Dozens of people have already had their say – make sure that your voice is heard in our plans to make Hackney a place that works for everyone.
The Council’s existing Estate Regeneration Programme will build nearly 3,000 new, modern, high-quality homes – with more than half for Council social rent and shared ownership. Its Housing Supply Programme, launched last year, will see at least 400 more built on underused Council land across the borough.
The consultation will run until Monday, 22 May, before a final strategy is considered by the Council’s Cabinet later this year based on feedback from residents.
To have your say, visit the consultation page. It is quicker and easier to complete the consultation online, but paper copies are available to pick up from the Hackney Service Centre and local Neighbourhood Housing Offices, or by calling 020 8356 7980.