Belvoir boss calls on prime minister to appoint housing tsar

Lettings chain Belvoir has released the contents of a letter that director Dorian Gonsalves has written to prime minister Theresa May.

Gonsalves makes the point that new housing minister Alok Sharma is the sixth since 2010, and that housing ministers stay in post for only a year or so.

He calls for the appointment of a housing tsar who would work with industry experts and politicians of all parties, before making recommendations to the housing minister.

He said in the letter: “It is no longer acceptable to use landlords as a scapegoat for the failings of successive housing ministers with short-term plans for the housing market.

“A long-term strategic vision for a housing market that works for everyone is desperately needed.”

Gonsalves is also calling for the 5m tenants who rent through private landlords to have access to an ombudsman scheme.

He said: “Currently, only tenants who rent through letting agents have access to an ombudsman scheme, which seems to be extremely unfair.

“If the Government is going to ban or cap tenant fees, we believe that additional measures should be introduced to provide protection for the millions of tenants who rent through private landlords.

“I hope that the new housing minister will be looking at these and other key issues, and I am confident that the appointment of a housing tsar could result in an improved long-term strategy for the industry.”

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4 Comments

  1. Hillofwad71

    Alok Sharma certainly  opened up Pandora,s Box after accepting the post  of Housing Minister in the rapid reshuffle by May . Shoved immediately  in the spotlight by Grenfell  Any thoughts of a safe seat before a rapid  career progression firmly out of the door   Left floundering yesterday the Rookie had to answer difficult questions  with no apparent help from the hapless Barwell

     

    Sharma ,a man with no background in housing has also consistently voted in favour of cuts to housing related benefits and in 2010 said he wanted to scrap housing targets .

    His response  yesterday was “I can promise everybody they will  be relocated  locally”

    A naive comment alas not within his gift to deliver.

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  2. AgentV

    To understand the slightest minutest bit about housing problems you must have had a reasonable length of life outside the bubble existence of modern politics.

    This seems to apply to very few people nowadays before they become career politicians.

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  3. Hillofwad71

    You really couldn’t make it up

    Promise of yesterday by Sharma

     

    “I can promise everybody they will  be relocated  locally”

     

    already set to be broken  as Kensington & Chelsea already  confirmed that due to lack of available accomodation some of the Grenfell residents  will be accomodated in other parts of the capital

     

    Hopeless,hapless and helpless

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  4. Trevor Mealham

    To advise the Housing Minister it really needs a 5-6 team committee of industry experts. Lettings is a different beast to res sales as is commercial. Viewpoints differ to from which side of the fence people sit on from being a landlord to tenant, from seller to buyer.

    I agree with Dorian, but I don’t think any one person could be expert on all and some industry sectors, but a small team could be. The Housing Minister then only has to be intelligent enough to grasp advice and present it accordingly from a well balanced set of advisers.

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