Lambeth Conservatives

Labour’s Folly

“We will work with local businesses and commercial landlords to reduce the number of empty properties blighting the borough and create a thriving local economy.”

Labour sought to shuffle off housing problems rather than resolve them. It set up an Arms-Length Management Organisation (ALMO) without convincing tenant support. Labour councillors wanted to transfer Lambeth’s housing stock to an ALMO before the 2006 local elections and deliberately didn’t include it in their manifesto because they knew they wouldn’t get elected if they told the truth.

Since then, Labour’s ALMO has: increased rents, hammered leaseholders, suspended repair work, and increased a variety of charges. It has recruited consultants on almost £800 per day to do quite mundane jobs such as maintain TV coverage by checking the aerial and other contracts.

Promised improvements to kitchens, bathrooms and windows have barely happened.

With Labour, it’s always jam tomorrow.

Conservatives’ Answer

We will ensure better use of resources by putting tenants and leaseholders in charge of their budgets. Unlike Labour, we will not resort to gimmicks imposed on residents.

In office we will:

• Establish a “Tenants’ Purse” – a pot of money that will be spent by the recognised Tenants’ Council.
• Create, as finances allow, “Estate Purses” – first on the larger estates, then on all estates. This money will be spent on estate improvements chosen by recognised Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations.
• Renovate empty houses across our borough. Houses boarded-up with brown shuttering are a symbol of Labour’s failure. We will lease out these properties to “factor” companies: they will invest in the houses, fill them with tenants from Lambeth’s waiting lists, take the initial rent and then share the rent with Lambeth. The empty homes – missed rent scandal must end.
• Evict squatters and give the homes to local families. Lambeth has more than 1,000 empty homes awaiting repair or sale – of these more than 10 per cent are occupied illegally by squatters. We will put in a hit team to get the empty homes back into use by people on the housing list and reduce the risk of any more squatting by protecting any house or flat that is empty for whatever reason.
• Establish a Leaseholders’ Ombudsman. This office will ensure that at least minor disputes can be resolved swiftly.
• Carry out identity checks on all tenancies and evict those not eligible to be there. With 16,000 families on the waiting list for housing it is essential that all tenants in Lambeth Living properties are entitled to live there.
• Ensure that complaints about housing association properties are suitably processed by Lambeth Council as they nominate 100 per cent of tenancies to housing associations.
• Sub-letting of social housing tenancies without consent of the landlord should become a criminal offence.
• Review all maintenance and major repair contracts. We believe savings can be found – such as in scaffolding costs – which can be passed on to tenants and leaseholders.
• Enforce tenancy agreements. Anti-social tenants will face a choice: behave or leave.
• End over-paid consultancies. There is a recession on: it’s time for Lambeth Living to join the real world.
• Ensure tenant control over home ownership and management. Conservatives agree with tenant leaders that the ballot on the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) which established Lambeth Living was gerrymandered. The agreement is for five years. We will ensure that there is a full and fair ballot at the end of that time as to whether the ALMO should continue.

To find out more CLICK HERE and download our manifesto (PDF, 9MB)