Concerned MPs, councillors and tenants say they have won a partial victory after the government introduced concessions to soften the impact of the introduction of rent restructuring in councils this week
Housing minister Lord Falconer said councils could introduce average rent targets across all properties in April 2002, largely where computer problems are holding up individual target rents.

This is in addition to a maximum £100 social rent cap.

A government spokesman said: “A number of local authorities say that they may not be ready to introduce rent restructuring in April 2002, often due to software problems. The advice to those authorities is to move rents as far as possible to the levels required by the restructuring policy, if necessary making the same average change for each property.”

Falconer told the House of Lords: “The subsidy system will not penalise authorities for not implementing the reforms at an individual property level.”

And further consultation with councils and tenants will take place on the moves to individual property rents over the next 10 years, Falconer promised.

Sources claim DTLR secretary Stephen Byers wanted to defer reform for councils for one year, but Falconer did not. Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott told Housing Today Byers gave her the impression that reform would be delayed at a recent meeting with 12 London MPs.

But Falconer told Housing Today: “I don’t know of that”.

Ian Coleman, MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, said two meetings had taken place. At the second, DTLR officials had made it clear that an absolute delay had been ruled out.

Regent’s Park and Kensington North MP Karen Buck said: “I wanted a delay and I think we don’t yet have all the information we need to work out a coherent strategy. But we have made a lot of progress.”

Association of London Government chair Sir Robin Wales said that the policy changes demonstrated a “listening government”.

But Ruth Lucas, housing policy officer at the Local Government Associations said: “We welcome those safeguards and we believe they will facilitate the implementation of rent restructuring, However we do still have concerns.”

Source

Housing Today