Bath MP Wera Hobhouse has called for more to be done to provide affordable housing in the city, after funding concerns were raised by local housing association Curo.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse
During Business Questions on Thursday 13th March, Mrs Hobhouse urged the government to do more to address the housing crisis, especially the lack of affordable homes in Bath.
It comes after Curo drew the Bath MP’s attention to the extent of the funding issues they were facing.
Currently, the government sets the cost of social rent, which is the main revenue source for housing associations.
This income stream must be used to cover the costs of maintaining the tenant’s home, partially funding decarbonisation upgrades, implementing new fire safety measures and delivering new social housing.
The Bath MP told the Leader of the House of Commons that these circumstances made it “nigh on impossible” for housing providers to maintain existing homes while building new ones.
Wera Hobhouse stressed the importance of ensuring tenants were not left to pay the price for these growing costs.
She urged the government to look at solutions that support providers to continue delivering affordable housing, while protecting tenants.
The Leader of the House, Lucy Powell, told the city’s MP that the government were committed to supporting tenants while building new and affordable housing.
However, she did not specifically address Curo’s concerns with the current funding streams for social housing.
Wera Hobhouse said: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure roof over their heads – and I’m grateful for all of the work Curo does to deliver affordable homes in our city.
“But housing associations are having to stretch resources to the limit to maintain tenants’ homes while providing new social houses. It’s nigh on impossible to do both.
“That’s why I’m calling on the government to enable housing providers to both support tenants and address the housing crisis by reviewing these funding streams.”
Victor da Cunha, Chief Executive of Bath-based Curo, said: “We’re very grateful to Wera for raising this crucial issue in the House of Commons.
“Funding for affordable housing is the most important issue to get right if we are to meet the Government’s 1.5 million house-building target while ensuring our residents’ homes are safe, warm and comfortable.”
