The Manchester Social Housing Commission is due to present a report in parliament today calling for both national and local government to tackle Manchester’s growing housing crisis.
The Bishop of Manchester Right Reverend Dr David Walker will introduce the ‘Why We Need Sustainable Houses for Social Rent: An Agenda for Change’ report at its launch event this afternoon.
Manchester has the second highest homelessness rate and the highest rate of temporary accommodation outside London and nearly 18,000 households are on the city’s social housing waiting list.
The report argues that a market-driven approach to housing has resulted in increasing unaffordability, homelessness and a decline in the availability of social rented housing. It aims to increase the availability of sustainable homes for social rent both in Manchester and across the country.
Dr Walker said: “Access to safe, secure, and affordable housing is a fundamental human right.
“The current housing crisis is a moral and economic imperative that demands immediate action.
“The Commission’s research sets out a clear path forward and we urge the government to adopt our recommendations to ensure everyone has a place to call home.”
The report contains five key demands for national government; to reinvest in social rent, to reform planning to prioritise sustainable social rent, to rethink the Right to Buy scheme, to retrofit empty homes for sustainable social rent and to embed community voices and ownership in the planning system.
Manchester has lost over 16,000 social rented homes since 1979 due to Right to Buy sales and a failure to replace lost stock.
According to the commission, many people have no option but to live in the private rented sector, which often provides poor quality, insecure and unaffordable housing. 43% of Manchester’s private rented housing has been assessed as ‘non-decent’.
Commissioner Venus Galarza, policy manager at Shelter said: “In the past decade we’ve lost more social homes than we’ve built, causing private rents to soar and leaving our housing system on its knees.
“The only way we’ll turn the tide is by investing in a new generation of social homes.”
The Manchester Social Housing Commission is made up of tenants, community organisations, campaigners, political leaders, housing professionals and academics.
It was set up in September after a call from community organisations, charities and researchers to tackle the growing issues surrounding housing in Manchester.
Featured image by Kelly Mattison
