NHF: Response to Ed Miliband's social housing proposals
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
4:42 PM
Commenting on Labour leader Ed Miliband's proposals for social housing allocations, David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation said the following:
"We welcome proposals to look at how housing can be allocated to meet a broader range of needs, including those of people in work.
"But while designing an allocation system that allows different people to benefit from social housing is fine in principle it doesn't address the fundamental problem, which is that housing, and particularly affordable housing, is a scarce commodity.
"Mr Miliband needs to address the housing crisis and say what measures Labour in government would take to ensure new homes are built. Just talking about rationing an already scarce resource is not going to be enough.
"Mr Miliband also talks about allocating social housing to good neighbours who look after their properties but of course the vast majority of tenants are already good neighbours, who take pride in their homes and are no more likely to be involved in bad behaviour than people in the private rented sector."
The National Housing Federation represents 1,200 housing associations in England.
Please contact Nick Foley in the Federation's press office on 0207 067 1028 / 07748 931286 if you have any enquiries.
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