Fight for mass council house building and rent controls
Dezzy Taylor, Swindon Socialist Party
Rents are skyrocketing, an average renter pays 41% of their income on rent. For many, owning your home and paying a mortgage would be better. Unfortunately, it is harder for people to get on the property ladder if they are unable to put aside money saved due to costs.
The current and previous governments have hailed part-ownership as the antidote to the housing crisis. The scheme sees prospective buyers taking out stakes in property, which can range from 10%, up to 90% in some cases. But the BBC has reported on “wildly unaffordable” part-ownership schemes trapping young professionals.
For a 25% stake, you would have to pay for the mortgage, rent on the remaining 75%, and often a ‘service charge’ on top. Service charges get hiked up with no warning and with little benefit. In one case, it leapt from £90 to £300 after a leak damaged a property. There is no cap on these charges, they are allegedly required to remain within ‘reasonable boundaries’. But there is nothing reasonable about hiking a charge with no clear benefit or choice on the side of the tenant/owner.
Mounting service charges stop tenant/owners purchasing more equity of the home. The hikes in these barely justified fees mean mortgage companies will not lend to them based on affordability, and some who are struggling say they feel trapped where they are.
The shared ownership scheme exists as a sticking plaster solution to the wide-ranging housing crisis. What we really need are new council homes! ‘Right to Buy’ looms large as the remaining council homes are bought and some are even being demolished. For every council home built, roughly eight were sold in 2025, widening this gulf. We need high-quality and environmentally friendly council homes. Proper insulation would bring down our bills and stop wasting energy.
The Socialist Party fights the right for everyone to have a safe home. For a mass council house building programme that are high-quality, varied in size, and carbon neutral. We also call for rent controls, low-interest mortgages for home buyers, and nationalisation of all privately owned building companies, land banks, and estates, so those valuable resources can be controlled democratically by the working class.
