Nov

Councils warn how asylum seeker policies are ‘breaking’ private rented sector

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Council leaders in Kent and Medway have written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman (main pic, inset) warning that her asylum-seeker policies are pushing private and social housing sectors to breaking point.

Fourteen councils have signed the joint letter which demands that pressure be eased in the county where almost 20,000 households are on the waiting list for social housing, with limited availability of private rented sector and temporary accommodation, which also suffers from pockets of severe deprivation and low average earnings.

“Maidstone’s ability to access the private rented sector has been further severely curtailed by an increase in the number of placements from other local authority areas, and various services commissioned by Probation and the Home Office to provide housing for asylum seekers and ex-offenders from out of area,” the letter, which LandlordZONE has seen, explains.

“Maidstone has over 400 Ukrainian households many of which will need rehousing soon. [Its] experience is not unusual; it is mirrored 13 times across Kent and Medway’s housing authorities. Kent’s housing sector cannot absorb further asylum placements on top of these existing burdens over and above local demand.”

Entry point

The Home Office wants to allocate an additional 1,300 adults to accommodate in Kent by December 2023 – despite the county historically taking the strain of asylum-seeking adults and children due to it being the country’s primary entry point.

The letter goes on: “Kent and Medway make up just 3% of our country’s geographic space, and yet we are a victim of our geographic position. It is time to utilise the remaining 97% of the country to relieve the burden on Kent.”

Private contractor Serco is currently advertising for more landlords to take in asylum seekers in the Northwest, Midlands and East of England, by offering to organise a five-year lease with no void periods, regular rent payments without arrears, free repairs and maintenance, full HMO and property management costs.

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