Phelim MacCafferty: Benefit caps and rising rents fuelling housing crisis

Councillor MacCafferty, convener of the Green Group on Brighton and Hove City Council

Although my recent experience of renting in the private rented sector has been a good one, for too many renting still means poor conditions, insecurity and rising rents.

From the landlords who’ve refused to install smoke alarms to the estate agents overcharging tenants for renewing their contracts. One resident had pigeons roosting in their doorway for two years before I finally got their landlord to act.

These shocking experiences sadly aren’t isolated: figures from the city council show that almost nine in ten properties rented to house-sharers ‘require improvements to ensure they are fit and safe for occupation’. And while many welcomed the government’s rogue landlords database it sits completely empty six months after it was launched. When it’s not the condition of some rented homes it’s the sheer cost. The National Housing Federation Truths Survey revealed that average monthly rents are now £1,292 – local people spend more than half of their income on rent.