Private tenants deserve support

Published: July 28, 2011

ACCORDING to Camden Council’s own figures, private tenants in Camden now outnumber council tenants.

Yet the Camden Federation of Private Tenants (CFPT), the only organisation in the borough dealing directly with the many problems faced by private tenants, recently learnt that its application for council funding has been rejected. So with a young single mother, whose landlord refuses to remedy the damp and unhealthy conditions in her home, or when a frightened 85-year-old is being harassed by her landlord in the hope that he can force her to vacate her flat to his advantage, there will be no organisation in Camden with the vast store of experience and knowledge that the CFPT has built up to help them deal with the dire situation in which they find themselves.

The CFPT has a recognised track record as an organisation which has operated effectively over many years.
It should be given the financial support it needs to continue assisting some of the authority’s most vulnerable residents.

Although I realise the council is in a difficult financial position, I would ask it to review this funding decision and to find resources to continue supporting the CFPT.
Rita M Legros
Algernon Road, NW6

Think again

POOR housing conditions, fear of eviction and sky-high rents were just some of the problems voiced by private tenants in a crowded meeting organised by Camden Federation of Private Tenants on July 12.

Councillors from all parties spoke and answered questions, but such opportunities to engage with Camden’s private tenants are now numbered as our organisation faces the complete withdrawal of council funding from January next year.

For 31 years CFPT has spoken up for marginalised private tenants who live in some of the worst properties in the borough. We operate on a shoestring and offer a lifeline of support to these isolated tenants, representing their views and interests. Over the years we have successfully fought for national deposit schemes and better fire safety for bedsits among other things.

It is a tragedy that today, when tenants of private landlords now make up the largest proportion of Camden’s population and numbers are set to increase still further with dwindling social housing, that CFPT may have to close its doors.

As housing benefit changes kick in and more and more vulnerable households are moved into private rented housing, tenants stand to lose the one organisation capable of supporting them in the fight to improve housing conditions and sustain their tenancies in the face of likely increases in rents and evictions.

Private tenants are not asking for special treatment, just a fair share of what financial resources the council still retains. As we tenants pay our share of council taxes we believe it is only fair to see the valuable work of CFPT funded to continue.

CFPT members and supporters urge the council to think again about funding our organisation so we can help even more private tenants across Camden over the coming crucial few years where massive changes to the sector take effect.
Sarah Mitchell
Chair of Camden Federation of Private Tenants