Usdaw calls for assistance for renters to buy and action on RAAC in homes

Rab Donnelly – Usdaw deputy general secretary said: “Housing security, not just having a roof over your head, but having a place to feel safe, to relax with family and to recharge is a fundamental right for all of us. We know that for working people having good quality housing is key to showing up and giving your best at work, we also know that not everyone has this.  
 
“Far too many families in this country are living in insecure housing, far too many families are living in poor quality housing and far too many families are living in housing that they struggle to afford. Having a place to live is no good if that place is unheated, is insecure, is unsafe. Housing is a trade union issue. 

Rab Donnelly continued: “Over half of all adults living in private rented housing say they have plans to own their own home, but many renters are priced out of taking the plunge because of the requirement to stump up high deposits, often in the tens of thousands of pounds in order to get a mortgage.

“People who work hard every day and pay their rent on time every month still have little hope of saving up a deposit to buy a house. It makes perfect sense that mortgage companies should be able to use people's proven history of financial competence and, if a person shows good payment history, lend 100% of the value of homes. This would open up home ownership to so many more hard-working people and give families the security that home ownership can provide. The current system is blocking home ownership from people who don't have tens of thousands of pounds in the bank and this would support thousands of lower income renters into home ownership.

Rab Donnelly concluded: “Many of you will have heard about the issues with RAAC concrete in public buildings. RAAC concrete, or 'bubbly concrete' was used as a cheap lightweight alternative to traditional concrete in thousands of public buildings built from the 1950s up to the 1980s. But RAAC has a limited lifespan, it decays over time and this deterioration leads to inevitable collapse.

“The crisis caused by the use of RAAC has affected hundreds of schools, and several hospitals, but what people are less aware of, is that hundreds of council homes were also built using RAAC. The majority of affected homes are in Scotland, with some now boarded up by councils and others that have already been demolished. While council tenants are given suitable rehousing, in safe and secure homes, the picture for homeowners who live in properties bought off councils is very different.

“Homeowners are not entitled to support from the councils who built the homes. As a result, some families have been faced with bills in the tens of thousands to make their homes safe. other families have bought homes that are now effectively worthless. It is clearly not right, that individual homeowners should be left to bear the cost of this scandal, leaving the public institutions who built homes able to completely wash their hands of any responsibility.

“The Government support over RAAC has been centred around public buildings, with no support so far for homeowners and this needs to change. Any support should not come at the cost of local services, this support must be paid for through central Government funds.