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London mayor Sadiq Khan has written to Robert Jenrick calling for further government measures to protect renters, welfare claimants and others during the coronavirus crisis.
In the letter, Mr Khan claimed that the steps taken so far “do not adequately protect the housing needs of all Londoners against the impacts of COVID-19” and said the government’s response to the pandemic now risks falling behind measures introduced by other nations in recent days.
He warned the housing secretary against leaving landlords and tenants to work out repayment plans for delayed rent built up during the pandemic and said benefit levels must be increased to help struggling private renters.
Mr Khan said that the move was “very welcome” but that benefit support “still falls well short of what is required to cover the full costs of rent among those who currently have little or no income” and is unavailable to some people.
He called for 13 changes to the benefit system – including raising LHA rates to reflect median market rents, full benefit cover for people unable to pay rent because of COVID-19 and scrapping the five-week wait for new Universal Credit claims.
The government last week announced a “complete ban” on evictions for both social and private renters for three months – but draft legislation published on Tuesday showed that the changes merely extended notice periods from two months to three.
The mayor said that the law change “will not stop renters from losing their homes” and that the government’s intention to let landlords and tenants agree rent repayment plans means tenants affected by coronavirus could be left with large debts “simply as a result of doing the right thing and following government advice”.
He said that the government must prevent landlords from serving eviction notices to any tenants affected by coronavirus to ensure no one falls into debt or becomes homeless because of the disease.
The lockdown announced by prime minister Boris Johnson “makes it only more urgent that tenants and homeowners are provided with necessary protection to see them through this crisis”, the letter added.
Mr Khan also called for extra flexibility for the housing grant programmes managed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to support delivery of new homes in the capital during the crisis.
The GLA is in talks with housing associations, councils and developers about how the pandemic is likely to affect development in London.
Mr Khan also renewed his demands for government funding to cover interim safety measures at blocks of flats with dangerous cladding and said steps should be taken to ensure waking watches can continue during the outbreak.
And he said councils’ homelessness services should be given emergency funding to deal with an increase in demand because of the crisis, as well as powers to acquire and repurpose accommodation such as unsold new build homes.
The mayor’s full letter, which also demands steps to support rough sleepers, homeowners and asylum seekers, is attached above.
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