Moonlight Robbery

Moonlight Robbery campaign is a tenant-led campaign. It argues for an end to government 'robbery' of council tenants rents, for council tenants rents to be used exclusively for management, maintenance (M&M) and major repairs (MR) to their homes and for the chronic shortfall in funding for these purposes to be addressed.

The campaign is formally supported by the London Tenants Federation.

The Robbery Council tenants this year will pay around £1.7 billion more in rent than councils are allowed to use for M&M and MR to their homes. This is what the campaign calls 'Moonlight Robbery'. Government unfairly insists that around £1.5 billion from our rent payments this year is used to to cover debt repayments on loans taken out to buy land, to build and improve council homes (capital costs). Since tenants don't own their homes and since the majority of the proceeds from sale of council homes through the right to buy (capital receipts) goes straight into the treasury, it is very clear that the treasury, not tenants should foot this bill.

Additionally government is making a straight profit from our rents - £194 million this year. It is estimated this will increase to £216 million in 09/10. This direct profit making has led Winchester tenant, Alan Rickman, to challenge the Government in the European Court of Human Rights.

Around £17 billion of council tenants rent payments has been robbed since this government has been in power.

Under funding of management, maintenance and major repairs There is a chronic £2.35 billion annual shortfall in funding for management, maintenance and repairs to council tenants homes.

The most comprehensive research carried out into how much money is needed to properly manage and maintain council homes was carried out for Government, by the Building Research Establishment in 2003. Index linked updating of the 2003 figures show the annual shortfall in Management and Maintenance Allowances this year to be £1.4 billion.

• Estimation of the need to spend on maintenance and management in the Local Authority housing stock (by BRE Construction Division and published by ODPM June 2003)

Detailed research commissioned by government and published in the ''Self-financing of local authority housing services: summary of findings of a modelling exercise” published by Communities and Local Government in March 2008 additionally shows the shortfall in Major Repairs Allowances to be £950 million.

• Self-financing of local authority housing services: summary of findings of a modelling exercise

Moonlight Robbery Campaign If council tenants rents were used in full for management, maintenance and major repairs to our homes, it would cover 72% of the current short fall. The Moonlight Robbery Campaign argues that previous robbery of council tenants rents would (and should) cover the remaining shortfall for many years to come.

• Moonlight Robbery Campaign (website)