Some good news to report: officers from Labour-run Reading Borough Council have confirmed to me today that RBC has joined the Campaign for Fair and Local Housing Finance.
This campaign is made up of a cross-party group of councils from across the country who's mission statement is as follows:
"We want Government to end the broken system of housing subsidy, which penalises the majority of councils, and allow us to spend the rent our tenants pay on improving their homes and communities, rather than paying it as an extra tax to the Treasury."
This group of councils, including Lib-Dem controlled Portsmouth is campaigning to end the tyranny of the hated "tenant tax", something the Lib Dems in Reading have been actively campaigning against for some time.
You may recall that back in January Labour and the Tories joined our local campaign and a motion was passed unanimously calling for action to reform housing finance, hence today's announcement.
In less positive news I read today is that the number of tenants in buy-to-let properties who are facing eviction is still rising.
What should be of particular concern to us in Reading is the fact that towns and cities with a high proportion of new-build flats (and private rented accomodation) are most at risk.
I raised this matter with RBC a few months ago but will continue to keep an eye on it to ensure local agencies are doing all they can to help tenants. After all someone has to: the other parties have been strangely quiet on this as on most local housing matters.
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