What To Expect From The New London Mayor Boris Johnson
© london.gov.uk
Readers from abroad might not know that Conservative Boris Johnson was elected to be the new Mayor of London on 2 May 2008. The previous and legendary position holder Labour Party Ken Livingstone took transportation to another level. Will Johnson do the same in housing?
Of course, the promises given before the election are always exaggerated but you should know what his goals are. Boris’ manifesto on improving the housing conditions can be obtained HERE (*pdf).
Here are the 4 most important promises that affect the rental sector directly:
1. Provide more affordable quality homes for low-income Londoners (50,000 more affordable homes by 2011) – it might be easier for today’s tenants to get a home of their own in the future.
2. Protect private tenants from unscrupulous landlords by publishing an online ‘Fair Rents Guide’ to help Londoners determine whether or not they are getting a fair deal.
3. Explore the possibility of a tenant deposit scheme (for rent paid up to £25 000 a year) with a guaranteed arbitration period of one month – Boris thinks that 1 months rent worth deposit is just way too much.
4. Spend £60 million on renovating empty homes (ca. 84 205 of them in London!) to be used by those in need.
Four years with a budget of a little over £1billion a year to spend on housing – a lot can be done. I do agree with Empty Homes Agency Chief Executive David Ireland, who says that at least the bar is high, and that should be a good sign in itself.
Keep an eye on the Mayor of London website!
