Jeremy Corbyn the Islington North MP and Labour leadership hopeful is calling for a right to buy for private tenants.
One of the four Labour leadership candidates, Jeremy Corbyn is launching a consultation on a policy which he says is aimed at getting more people into secure homes. He thinks it is time to look giving private sector tenants a ‘right to buy.
Mr Jeremy Corbyn said:
“We know that Generation Rent faces an uphill struggle simply to get into long-term housing. We have seen some good ideas from Labour to establish more secure tenancies for renters. Now we need to go further and think of new ways to get more people into secure housing.
“So why not go with Right to Buy, with the same discounts as offered by way of subsidised mortgage rates, but for private tenants and funded by withdrawing the £14 billion tax allowances currently given to Buy to Let landlords.
“I believe this idea could open up the possibility of real secure housing for many currently faced with insecurity and high rents. I will be consulting Labour members and the wider public about this proposal over the summer, as part of a package of housing policies to get people into the homes they desperately need.
Were the policy to be introduced it would likely be the biggest incursion into the liberty of private landlords since the Rent Acts, which in the 50s, 60s and 70s gave private tenants lifetime security of tenure. Many of these tenancies, known as regulated tenancies, still exist today.
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. Before being elected to Parliament he was an elected councillor in the London Borough of Haringey from 1974 to 83.
He was also a full-time organiser for National Union of Public Employees and is member of the Socialist Campaign Group. He is considered one of the more left-wing of Labour MPs. He writes a weekly column in the Morning Star and is a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Article courtesy of LandlordZONE
