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The London Tenants
Federation (LTF) is an umbrella organisation bringing together London's
borough wide council tenant federations and organisations. It does
not supersede its member organisations, but instead aims to strengthen
them through - sharing and exchanging information, making shared
responses to consultation and at times campaigning together. It
aims to provide a strong voice for London's council tenants. Regional
housing structures were established in 2003 through the Governments
'Communities Plan'. The London Tenants Federation (LTF) lobbied
for tenant representation at the regional level and has since gained
representation on the Mayors Housing Forum and two of its sub groups.
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LTF member
federations and organisations elect representatives to attend our
6 weekly meetings. All
member borough wide federations and organisations are equally important
to the organisation. Member representatives are elected in their
boroughs and accountable to tenants in their boroughs. The chair
for any LTF meeting is agreed at the beginning of each meeting.
Sub groups of the LTF are mandated to carry out tasks via the LTF
general meetings and are required to report back to general meetings.
The LTF aims to change this arrangement minimally in order to make
funding applications (Please see information on the LTF AGM near
the end of this page)
The LTF
responds collectively to government - regional and national consultation
and encourages its members to also make individual responses.
The LTF
has made strong links with other organisations with an interest
in housing issues, particularly in London The LTF has also established
links with tenants from other European countries and further afield.
The LTF is a member of Habitat International Coalition
http://www.hic-net.org/about.asp
The LTF
produces regular briefings on housing issues and 6 monthly newsletters,
which are distributed to tenants and residents associations in London
through our member borough wide federations and organisations. (Please
see 'publications' to see copies of the LTF newsletter)
The London
Tenants Federation believes tenants should be involved at all levels
of decision making relating to our homes an communities, through
democratic and accountable tenant structures. It argues strongly
for more low cost publicly owned housing.
The LTF
argues strongly for democratic and accountable tenant structures.
Whilst we accept that informal methods of consultation can help
to bring new tenants into formal structures, most tenants fear that
focus groups, shopping incentives and other gimmicks are used to
cherry pick those who will provide the desired response. The LTF
argues that relationships between informal and formal should be
set out transparently and that informal methods should not be used
instead of democratic and accountable methods.
High
land and property values in London affects both the availability
and affordability of housing in the capital. It impacts on all issues
relating to our homes and communities and on debate amongst LTF
members - on issues relating to overcrowding, housing density, availability
of communal, green and play spaces, on rent levels and the selling
off of publicly owned land and property. It impacts on LTF policies
which are formulated through debate at LTF meetings and conferences.
Through
our involvement in regional decision making structures, the LTF
has argued in support of tenants of other tenures being involved
in decision making at the regional level. The LTF is not funded
to represent housing association tenants but is though keen to make
links with housing association tenant organisations. It has argued
for the development of a regional housing association tenant organisation
that might parallel the London Tenants Federation and with whom
we might work with on issues that concern both council and housing
association tenants. Please see our section on Regional
Decision Making for more information on this.
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RECENT
ISSUES, CONSULTATIONS AND OPEN MEETINGS
- FURTHER
ALTERATIONS TO THE LONDON PLAN The
responsibility for the London Plan, London's statutory planning
document lies with the Mayor. He is responsible for updating the
plan. In June '06 there was an Examination in Public (EiP) of
Early Alterations to the London Plan, which LTF members
were invited to attend. Following consultation on 'Further
Alterations', LTF members were also invited to attend another
EiP in June and July this year. The LTF Autumn
'07 Newsletter focuses on our attendance at the EiP. Our response
to consultation and submissions of evidence can be found in 'The
London Plan' section of our website - please see list (green background)
on the left hand side of the page.
- THE MAYORS
HOUSING STRATEGY The Draft
Mayors Housing Strategy was published on 18th September '07.
Following Royal Assent of the GLA bill, it will undergo a period
of formal consultation, first with the London Assembly and then
with the public, before being adopted as London’s first
statutory housing strategy. It
is likely that formal public consultation will commence in March
'08.
- LTF OPEN MEETING
ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES - 22ND
NOVEMBER '07 - Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen's
Walk, London SE1 2AA. Environmental and climate
change issues are to be one of the key themes of the Draft Mayors
Housing Strategy. It will impact on existing and future homes.
The LTF aims to ensure our member organisations are well enough
informed to respond to consultation and to ask pertinent
questions of our landlords on these issues. Tenant
and resident representatives from across London are welcome to
attend. Email us for more information from mid October.
- THE
RIGHT TO RENT Leeds
Tenants Federation has been campaigning for sometime on the Right
to Rent. We invited its chair, Michael Hall to speak at our AGM
in April this year. Leeds is encouraging other local and regional
tenants federations to also campaign on the Right to Rent. We
will report on campaigns as they develop in London and in other
regions.
- GOVERNMENT
REVIEWS OF SOCIAL HOUSING The
government has this year commissioned 2 reviews of social housing
1.
The John Hills Review of Social Housing - 'Ends and Means:
The Future Roles of Social Housing in England' which was launched
in February '07. Hill was commissioned by the Housing Minister
to carry out the review and his remit was 'the
role of social housing in the 21st Century; how that fit in
with government broader housing policy and what tenants really
need from social housing'.
There was however no formal consultation tenants, so presumably
it was considered that anyone other than tenants would know
best what we really need.
The LTF
submitted our 2006 conference recommendations to Hills and a
covering letter. We said we were concerned about the current
levels prejudice leveled at council tenants in the media and
elsewhere. We noted London's growing levels of poverty and property
values. We noted the growing lack of affordability of social
rented homes and Governments failures to address housing need
in London. We said we wanted to see government investing positively
in council housing - in new and existing homes and we said we
felt that tenants should be part of defining problems relating
to our homes and in defining the solutions.
Shortly
after the announcement of the Hill's Review, a report, put together
by the Smith Institute, entitled 'Rethinking Social Housing',
was launched from 11 Downing Street. The report includes the
suggestion that living on social housing estates promotes 'welfare
dependency'. Amongst its proposals are ending tenure for life;
setting rents according to income and making compulsory the
sale of parts of social housing estates, to build private homes.
Since the
publication of the Hills Review, the Smith Institute has published
yet another report entitled 'Social Housing: Breaking new
ground'. The social housing sector is seen as something that
should compete with the private sector and again proposes ending
tenure for life. It says - 'RSLs must be treated as mature businesses
and given freedoms to change their structures ..........they must
be prepared to compete with the private sector'; 'A significant
proportion of social rented housing stock is occupied by those
who no longer need it (the report assumes 10 - 15% could afford
to buy or part buy). We cannot afford this, morally or economically
and it must stop' and 'A simple reapplication for tenancy, say
every 5 years, would ensure that those who remained eligible for
the accommodation would stay in it.'
Without doubt
this is the direction government is moving in. The Cave Review
(information below) reaffirms this.
- Rethinking
social housing (Smith Institute)
- Social
Housing: Breaking new ground (Smith Institute)
- Ends
and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England
- John Hills (LSE)
- Agreed
Recommendations from LTF Conference 2006 - 'Tenants Vision
for Housing in London'
2.
Martin
Cave's 'Every Tenant Matters: A Review of Social Housing Regulation'
was published in June '07. There was formal consultation on
this review. Over a hundred organisations responded to Martin
Cave's 'Call for Evidence'. Most of these though came from service
providers (councils and housing associations) and professional
organisations, as well as the Council for Mortgage Lenders (who
were also part of an ‘External Advisory Group’ to
Cave), a few trade unions, an MP, DCH and TPAS (also part of
the ‘External Advisory Group). Only 5 tenants’ organisations
(including the LTF) responded . No tenant organisations were
part of the ‘External Advisory Group’.
Cave held two meetings
with tenants, one in London and one in Manchester. The Review
promotes a greater role for the private sector in both building
and managing social housing. Tenants are considered as consumers
apparently with 'an appetite' for more market choice.
The LTF does not concur
with this view, but instead feels giving a greater role to the
private sector will necessarily result in less democratic and
accountable structures and the erosion of tenants’ rights.
On 20.09.07
'Inside Housing' magazine reported 20.09.07 that the Housing
Corporation and the National Housing Federation were predicting
that housing associations will drop their emphasis on building
homes for social rent. It suggested that up to 20 housing associations
would build more private than socially rented homes within the
next decade. Steve Douglas acting Housing Corporation chief
executive said "Some housing associations will soon have
'more in common with Barratts' than community-based landlords".
- LTF
response to Martin Cave's 'Call for Evidence'
- Every
Tenant Matters: A Review of Social Housing Regulation
- Martin Cave
- LTF
briefing on the Cave Review.
- TENANT EMPOWERMENT
CONSULTATION Cave
suggested further consultation on his proposal for a National
Tenants Voice, which led to the publication of the Government
department: Communities and Local Government (CLG) 'Tenant Empowerment'
consultation paper. The main focus of the paper was on involving
more tenants in managing their own homes and the proposed 'National
Tenants Voice'.
- HOUSING GREEN
PAPER. The
Government's 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more
sustainable - Housing Green Paper', was published in July
this year. The closing date for responses to consultation is 15th
October 07. The publication of the Green Paper hit media headlines,
with many in the press suggesting the Green Paper showed Government
had moved housing significantly up the political agenda. Some
have proposed that it heralds a new dawn for councils to build
new homes. The LTF is far from convinced. We have produced 2 briefings
on the Green Paper, the first being an analysis of existing need
and an assessment of whether the Green Paper offers sufficient
to address those problems.
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The
LTF welcomes comment and contributions from tenants, but we cannot
respond to individual complaints or concerns about issues in individual
boroughs.
We
are not an advice agency and cannot assist directly with tenancy
issues for tenants of any tenure. For advice on any legal issue
please contact your local law centre or Citizens Advice Bureau.
Please also visit our links page for links to advice guides and
Community Legal Services Direct.
Address
- London Tenants Federation, C/o Camden Federation of Tenants and
Residents Association, 11-17 The Marr, Camden Street, London NW1
OHE. Tel 020 7874 5464
E-mail
info@londontenants.org
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