Homes fit for families

Published: 3 December, 2010

• SINCE May, when Labour won control of Islington Council, one of our key commitments has been to build more family-sized council homes.

With 3,000 families living in overcrowding – many in “severe” overcrowding lacking two or more bedrooms – we must build more family-sized social housing.

But since May, the national government has made this task far harder. Budgets are being slashed across the board – and the funding for new social housing has been hit particularly hard. 

Meanwhile, the government has changed the rules so that if housing associations build new “social” homes they can charge up to 80 per cent of the market rent.

This makes our task harder – but also all the more crucial that Islington Council takes the lead in making sure new family-sized council homes are built here over the next few years.

As reported in the Tribune last week (Low-paid get chance to be home-owner, November 26), we have decided to offer a limited number of one-bed or bedsit flats on a shared ownership basis to Islington residents – particularly existing tenants, children of existing tenants and people on the waiting list. These shared ownership sales will release money needed to help us build new family-sized homes.

Forty per cent of all our homes are one-bed, while far too few have three, four or more bedrooms. By offering a small number of empty one-beds through shared ownership, this plan will help us add to Islington’s council housing stock so we have more family homes.

The pilot scheme will see 10 flats offered through this scheme – and our estimates are that the money from these 10 flats will help fund six new family-sized council homes.

We are offering the shared ownership flats to Islington people – chiefly existing council or housing association tenants, New Generation Scheme applicants (sons and daughters of tenants), people on the waiting list with more than 120 points and people who have an immediate family connection in Islington.

We’ll be starting the pilot programme in the new year. If you would like to find out more, contact the Homes for Islington home ownership unit on 020 7527 7705 or homeownership@homesforislington.org.uk

We have designed the scheme to be as affordable as possible; this plan will help some people on low and modest incomes buy a home in Islington, allowing them to stay in the borough. The flats will be kept permanently in shared ownership so they remain affordable, and offered to Islington people if re-sold in the future.

And crucially for us, this plan will raise the money we need to help us build the family council housing that Islington so desperately needs.

CLLR JAMES MURRAY 
Labour executive member 
for housing