To receive and consider any notices of motion from members of the Council under standing order 15.

From Councillor Robert King

This Council notes:

(1) With rents soaring out of control, thousands of families are left buried in debt and under the threat of losing their home.

(2) Many remain stuck on the Council housing list with little or no chance of an affordable secure home.

(3) That the problem is made worse by a huge increase in the use of section 21 notices (issued under the Housing Act 1988) to secure ‘no fault evictions’ of tenants, destroying family homes as landlords look to take advantage of unprecedented price rises and sell up or they themselves are being impacted by the unprecedented rise in interest rates.

(4) The East Thames Valley and Walton Local Housing Allowances (which determines the maximum level of Housing Benefit that can be paid) now is at least 30% below the market value of most rented properties, once again driving families into debt, with rent arrears blocking them from seeking another home when they’re evicted.

(5) The government has announced that LHA rates are to be frozen for another year, while the rents tenants have to pay continue to escalate with no controls on the level of rents landlords can charge.

(6) The shortage of genuinely affordable rented homes is causing a long-term problem too. But significant numbers of empty homes and unidentified housing sites, particularly brownfield sites, remaining undeveloped, ‘land banked’ by property speculators who prefer to wait for local housing values to increase still further or waiting for over ambiguous planning proposal to be granted. Councils can do little about this, as they lack the cost-neutral CPO powers to bring empty homes and land-banked land back into use for genuinely affordable social rented housing.

(7) All these factors have led to a huge escalation in homelessness and particularly hidden homelessness, with hundreds of millions of pounds wasted each year across the country providing unsatisfactory temporary accommodation or by residents facing continued expense when moving between insecure homes.

The Council Believes That:

(1) All these factors combine to precipitate a real housing crisis. We are only at the very start of this perfect storm which will condemn current and future generations of Runnymede residents to insecure, unaffordable and substandard housing.

(2) A safe, secure and affordable home is a basic human right.

The Council resolves that:

(1) The Leader of Runnymede Council with other group leaders as they see fit write to Runnymede and Weybridge’s MP and the Secretary of state for Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing Michael Gove demanding that he:

a. abolishes section 21 notices

b. reverses the decision to freeze LHA and increase it so it reflects the true level of private sector rents

c. allows Councils to charge up to 300% Council tax on second homes.

d. reinstates the fair rent review system to cap housing rents at a realistic level.

e. grants councils ‘cost neutral’ compulsory purchase powers that allow them to deduct costs from compensation paid for the compulsory purchase of long-term empty homes and land-banked land.

(2) Runnymede Council declares a housing emergency and that this enables a public information gathering excise so residents can report that concerns or experiences of renting privately and that a report can be presented to the relevant committee on its findings.

(3) Runnymede Council looks to adapt its policies and resources following such a review of resident experiences in the private sector to enhance the protections and services this Council offers to its residents.

The motion, as set out in the summons, was moved by Councillor R. King, subject to a referral being made to the Environment and Sustainability Committee.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Berardi.

The motion was debated by the Council.

A named vote was requested on the motion and the voting was as follows:

For the motion (12)

Councillors Berardi, Burton, Davies, Gill, Gillham, Jenkins, A. King, R. King, Mullens, Ringham, S. Whyte and Williams.

Against the motion (18)

Councillors Saise-Marshall, Balkan, Bromley, Cotty, Cunningham, Darby, Dennett, J. Gracey, T. Gracey, Heath, Howorth, Hulley, Lewis, Nuti, Olorenshaw, Prescot, Walsh and Willingale.

Abstentions (2)

Councillors Harnden and Mann.

The motion was lost.