Housing Crisis & Shelter

I had plenty to do yesterday but I downed tools, switched of the phone and spent the day volunteering at Shelter’s Bristol Hub, showing off my painting skills! it was really lovely to hear first hand some of the projects they are working and how many people they are helping on a day-to-day basis.

So many of us are so vulnerable to being made homeless and Charities such as Shelter are crucial to help us through difficult times. Taking time out from our own day-to-day business and activities to volunteer in such a way helps us to remain grounded and connect with the real issues that surround us.

With connection comes greater understanding and raised awareness of how we can help to build a better society, it is not a selfless act, building a happier society where people are not living in desperate situations has a ripple effect, including on the people you love. It just needs a few leaders, a few game-changers, a few people in power with the ability to make small life altering changes to what is perceived to be normal.

Longer tenancy agreements (of course with landlord protection clauses!) – it is not a nice situation to be in when every day your stomach has a sick feeling wondering if that is the day a Section 21 notice will be posted through your door (no, a reason is not needed).

The freedom to decorate one’s home, the freedom to hang pictures (enjoy a private life & make a home!), the freedom to have pets in your family. Simple freedoms that all should be able to enjoy.

Being a tenant is rarely a lifestyle choice past your 20’s.
Being in receipt of benefits is rarely a lifestyle choice. Living month to month on a wage that is disproportionate to inflation is not a choice. Minimum wage is legal, not ethical
Working a 25/30 hour week really need not be a problem.. Most people would jump at the chance to work in school hours & be as removed as possible from the benefits system & vulnerable living but ethical employer leadership is still desperately lacking.

Decent working hours, decent wage, decent tenancies, happy landlords with a property or properties at the end of covered mortgage payments #whatmorecouldyouwishfor and it’s all doable.

Many tenants work full-time, but as wages are so low and they are not in a position to save a deposit they are subject to a lifetime of renting. Mortgages have an end date, rental payments do not. Consequently generation after generation are forced into rental. Whilst some landlords enjoy a large property portfolio and benefit from generations of rent, for the simple reason of being able to fund that deposit.

Credit files are more damaging than a prison sentence. If you struggle in life early on, doors will remain closed to you, interest rates will remain high. Yet you will spend a lifetime paying the same amount in rent as you would to a mortgage and there will never be light at the end of the tunnel. On your deathbed you will worry about that months rent, and you will not have property to pass to your children, and so the cycle continues.

So much work to be done here guys! More leaders & game changers required.

It is quite simple – home ownership = no need for Gov. to fund HB for generations. (yes – less tax) Working will benefit all, for the right reasons. Disposable income = less crime = less tax!

Rental income, from whichever channel, is funding capitalism and property portfolios, instead of generations of security. It’s not rocket science to see what is wrong here.

Meanwhile people are in a massive rental trap – and Shelter do so much to help. People are unable to afford to move to more affordable properties (huge fees, deposits, DSS discrimination, and needing guarantors for low credit score), people are unable to move into government affordable housing – and if they are lucky enough to find a secure affordable home they need help to furnish it with the basics. Legal advice for revenge action for repairs, the list goes on. Turn to Shelter if you need help and advice.

Here is a VT recently released by Shelter with respect to discrimination – it does happen, you will know from some of my earlier blogs about my estate agent days. We did not advertise no DSS but we still allowed discrimination in some cases behind the scenes. Instead of educating our landlords. This must end.