Housing & The Problems That Remain

To this day we still have a problem with housing and homelessness. 

From 1979 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher was our Prime Minister and in that time she, I believe, committed a criminal act by selling off nearly all the Council houses under the Right to Buy scheme. Councils were not allowed to build any more houses so the safety net for the homeless disappeared. 

Many of the Council houses were bought by the tenants’ children as they could see that it was worth their while to have access to cheap housing which they could own later. It was truly an abuse of public funds for political ends. Everybody has the right to a roof over their heads and Margaret Thatcher took that away from them. We are still struggling with the after effects of this action after all these years.

At the moment we can see housing estates being built with little or no social housing. One estate near me has only 4 bedroom houses and of course they can’t sell them as people do not have the money or they do not need four bedrooms. Young people are still living with their parents as they cannot afford to buy homes of their own. Housing , our shelter, is a necessity for everyone. We all have the right to a roof over our heads.

There are good landlords in the private sector but there are many who are not. They charge too much money and could not care less about their tenants. In housing, health and well-being are linked. Unfortunately,many rental properties are run-down with mold, leaks, damp and heating failures. Costs continue to rise and these rogue landlords just raise rents on families that can ill afford it. The problem is that these houses put children at risk. Children can end up in hospital due to poor housing.

Who are these landlords? Of course there are the small local landlords who try to do their best but there are big landlords and their sidekicks. There are MP landlords who support unfair laws in housing. Royalty also does very little on housing and King Charles is a landlord with very strict rules for his tenants. 

Insurance companies also do nothing to support tenants. Debt collection agencies who employ thugs as bailiffs trap millions in miserable unsafe housing. They have unprincipled lawyers so they can commit criminal negligence and even the law courts cannot be relied upon. John Mortimer, a dramatist and barrister, once said that if you want justice, never go to the law.

We need new housing regulations to protect tenants and to ensure that landlords behave in a decent manner. People need places to live but they must be healthy spaces.

Prince William is worth £69 billion and says he wants to end homelessness. The Charity CRISIS says that this will cost £1.9 billion. There are so many billionaires including King Charles and Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon. These people could solve homelessness in a minute. There seems to be very little guilt and no action. It is a massive tragedy. These billionaires need to look around them and do something to make this world a better place for those in need.

Our housing crisis has so much injustice with exploitation, social deprivation and inequality for tenants in squalid areas. It is important to know that in Wales, no-fault evictions have ended. If there are problems, you can go to the following organisations for help: Shelter, Citizens Advice Bureau,your local Council. Do not at any time leave your rented property through fear as the Council will say that you have intentionally made yourself homeless. 

One parent families, which are usually just the mother and children do often feel at risk but since August 2026 you are safer than before. In 2024.more than 70,000 one parent families faced eviction threats.

There are so many problems in the private rental sector for the landlords too. They have to deal with rising interest rates, stagnating wages and the rental market as a whole. These can affect the tenant also.

THERE IS STILL NOT ENOUGH SOCIAL HOUSING.

This is still due to Margaret Thatcher, after all these years. She put back the building of social housing by years. She felt absolutely no shame.

I know I am repeating myself here but I believe that this is so important for banks and building societies to think about in this modern era. Young people should not have to rely on the bank of Mum and Dad as the parents may not be very well off themselves.

Although they want to help their children they may not be able to do so. If their adult children are already renting it is almost impossible to save for a deposit. BUT if they are good at paying their rents the banks should take this into consideration because it would mean that they could reliably pay a mortgage.

This is the biggest injustice of all for young people and housing. A rented property will never be their real home. But a bought home with a mortgage is a meaningful way of living and being secure.

Please note: CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES – Build one bedroom flats for first time buyers which would be affordable for young people to buy and get them on the housing ladder.

BANKS – start to think about allowing young people who have proven their reliability in the private rental market to move into home ownership with ease.

What a difference this would make and it would be one step towards stopping the insecurity of housing problems.