SOCIAL housing will be condemned to the history books if the Tories get their way on new Housing and Planning Bill, experts have warned.

 

The Bill, which returns to the Commons tomorrow, would “end social housing forever,” according to architects and sociologists writing in today’s Morning Star.

 

It includes a series of drastic changes that would not only put an end to secure tenancies, but also allow for housing estates to be “redeveloped” as brownfield sites. 

 

London School of Economics sociology lecturer Lisa McKenzie says: “Growing up on a council estate in the early 1970s meant a level of safety that working-class families now can only dream of. 

 

“Poor housing and poor health have sat side by side in the importance that a society should provide as long as there has been people organised enough to fight for it.”

 

She says the Bill “unapologetically transfer[s] social housing and publicly owned land and buildings into private hands.”

 

The Bill also introduces controversial new “pay to stay” rules, forcing households with a joint income over £30,000 to pay market rents.

 

And the government’s responsibility for building new social homes will be swapped for “starter homes” building programmes.

 

Architects for Social Housing founder Simon Elmer says: “Rather than alleviating the housing crisis, either by building genuinely affordable homes or by increasing provision of social housing, the Bill seeks to use that crisis for political and financial ends.”

 

Hundreds of housing activists are expected to march on Parliament tomorrow as the Bill reaches its third reading. 

 

Over 150 politicians, architectural firms and campaigning groups have signed a petition against the policy.