People's Question Time Online

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Read more about how Talk London members got to ask the Mayor and the Members of the London Assembly about what matters to them at the first People's Question Time Online on 12 November 2020.

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849 Londoners have responded | 05/10/2020 - 02/11/2020

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Ask the Mayor and the Members of the London Assembly about housing

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This is your chance to put your question to the Mayor, Sadiq Khan and members of the London Assembly about their current plans, priorities and policies for the capital, at the first ever People’s Question Time Online, on 12 November 2020, 7pm - 9pm.
 
The Mayor is responsible for:

  • building high quality homes for Londoners and creating inclusive neighbourhoods;  
  • delivering genuinely affordable homes;  

  • delivering Government funding to remediate unsafe buildings in London following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower;

  • creating a fairer deal for private renters and leaseholders; and

  • tackling homelessness and helping rough sleepers 

The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body that holds the Mayor to account and investigates issues that matter to Londoners.  

What would you ask them about housing?
 
Please keep your question short, relevant and constructive. If another member has already asked a similar question to the one you were going to ask, you can show your support by commenting on that question.
 
You can submit your question until midnight on Sunday 1 November. Read more about the shortlist process in the FAQs.

The discussion ran from 05 October 2020 - 02 November 2020

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Comments (55)

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Will you support a sunset clause on leasehold?

The majority of London’s new flats are leasehold, despite the many problems with this form of tenure. The problems with onerous service charges, permission fees, escalating ground rents, and...

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Will you support a sunset clause on leasehold?

The majority of London’s new flats are leasehold, despite the many problems with this form of tenure. The problems with onerous service charges, permission fees, escalating ground rents, and most recently, the fiasco over who should pay for substandard cladding, are well documented. The shortcomings of leasehold are rightly putting off potential buyers, even though London faces an acute shortage of homes.

This year the Law Commission updated and revised Commonhold and recommended it as better and fairer form of tenure. What can you do to encourage the adoption of Commonhold in new builds, and the phasing out of leasehold?

 

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I would like to ask the Mayor the following questions:

1. When are you going to cap private rents in London? 

2. When are you planning to make living in central London affordable? The majority of people who work in central London don't...

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I would like to ask the Mayor the following questions:

1. When are you going to cap private rents in London? 

2. When are you planning to make living in central London affordable? The majority of people who work in central London don't live there because they cannot afford to. If more people lived in central London, businesses wouldn't have been so reliant on the office workers and wouldn't have sufferred massive losses because of Covid-19.

3. What is the price of an affordable home for you? 

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Why is the mayor selling of TfL land to build housing despite the areas lacking infrastructure to support these builds? Like parking, doctors surgeries or schools? Aren't 45% meant to be affordable? So why is the mayor accepting deals with...

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Why is the mayor selling of TfL land to build housing despite the areas lacking infrastructure to support these builds? Like parking, doctors surgeries or schools? Aren't 45% meant to be affordable? So why is the mayor accepting deals with private developers which have less than the agreed percentage of affordable housing? London needs family homes not 1/2 bedroom properties so I ask the mayor what Is he doing for current residents? 

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Concerns overcrowding by having too many housing developments in London causing acute strain on emergency services, health and environment.

Why not build outside London with good transport links?

Covid19 shows that too many people in a...

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Concerns overcrowding by having too many housing developments in London causing acute strain on emergency services, health and environment.

Why not build outside London with good transport links?

Covid19 shows that too many people in a closed environment like London makes transmission easy for covid19 and other diseases to spread rapidly.

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We bought our flat in a recently built (2014) building block, and we got caught up in the cladding scandal with hundreds of thousands of others only in London. We live in fear as we don't know what's going to happen with us financially when...

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We bought our flat in a recently built (2014) building block, and we got caught up in the cladding scandal with hundreds of thousands of others only in London. We live in fear as we don't know what's going to happen with us financially when we will be told to foot the remediation costs of the unsafe materials. As if the mortgage and living costs were not high enough already.

Many people died on the day of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. But many more are dying currently of suicide, as we are left alone to deal with the impossible burden the government put on our heads when changing building regulations retrospectively. I fail to understand how can that be legal. The actions of the government is killing many more. And they fail to recognize the problem they created. Ludicrous.

Unfortunately London doesn't seem to care either. We are failed by both national and local regulatory bodies.

Can the Mayor and the London Assembly finally recognize the problem and start actively engage? Can they please reassure trapped residents they are not at fault when bought their currently unsafe flats? Can they reassure residents that national or local government will foot the bill they created by either not regulating building safety 20-30 years ago or by retrospectively changing laws?

Thank you for listening to my question.

Best Regards,

Peter

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Hello and thank you for receiving questions from the open public, this is the first time I will have taken part.

I have a 17 month old son and have been saving for a mortgage for 10 years whilst paying over the odds for rented...

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Hello and thank you for receiving questions from the open public, this is the first time I will have taken part.

I have a 17 month old son and have been saving for a mortgage for 10 years whilst paying over the odds for rented accommodation, which has been tough. 

I'm currently trying to buy a property in the 'affordable' range and am being told no by every lender despite my exemplary employment record, great credit score and my ability to push on and overcome. 

It pains me to be told that as a single mum, I am forced to continue to rent a single room, where I live/work/sleep in the same room with my baby, all because lenders won't allow me enough to acquire an affordable home, despite the fact that I'm paying more now than I would be at a basic 25% shared ownership, which is the least I can possibly get just to get on the ladder. 

I'm at a loss and close to calling it a day and being a benefit mum as financially it appears I'd actually be better off and I would see my son grow instead of having him in childcare for 10 hours a day. What am I supposed to do? Please help. 

Thank you for your time sir. 

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Are there plans to level out the funding inconsistencies across boroughs for children in care / care leavers? 
 

The care community can be close knit at times, young people being told their friends in neighbouring boroughs can get upwards...

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Are there plans to level out the funding inconsistencies across boroughs for children in care / care leavers? 
 

The care community can be close knit at times, young people being told their friends in neighbouring boroughs can get upwards of £600 more funding to cover their furnishing costs is upsetting and young people should not have to rely on a "postcode" lottery to be treated equally. (This is called the Setting Up Home Allowance and an example would be Hounslow SUHA vs Fulham SUHA) 

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Avatar for - Sea turtle

Are there plans to develop more housing for care leavers? 
 

Care leavers are told that the housing they obtain through their council will be their "forever home" and should decorate as such (furnishing it fully, installing carpet etc). 
 ...

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Are there plans to develop more housing for care leavers? 
 

Care leavers are told that the housing they obtain through their council will be their "forever home" and should decorate as such (furnishing it fully, installing carpet etc). 
 

However, a lot of care leavers receive studio flats - this limits how "forever" this home can really be due to the limitations the space holds. 
 

There are care leavers, despite being quite high priority on the housing list, having to wait a long time for housing due to the lack of housing there actually is. Children in care are turning 18 every single month, having to move out or being encouraged to move out of their current placements and every month public services will struggle to house them due to lack of spaces.  
 

It is not uncommon for the general public to overlook people with care experience and the struggles they face so stability with their own home is really important.

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Are there plans to improve the way of working for public services during restrictions that may make it difficult for members of the public to access them? 
 

From personal experience, being told viewings couldn't be adapted to virtual...

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Are there plans to improve the way of working for public services during restrictions that may make it difficult for members of the public to access them? 
 

From personal experience, being told viewings couldn't be adapted to virtual methods in the public sector while the private housing sector was still up and running effectively suggests that those who require public services aren't prioritised. 

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Will the mayor consider adding the new Green Energy Co-operative - www.WeAreEnergy.coop, as a preferred energy supplier to his housing plans for London? 

This new member owned co-operative is designed to give every household and business...

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Will the mayor consider adding the new Green Energy Co-operative - www.WeAreEnergy.coop, as a preferred energy supplier to his housing plans for London? 

This new member owned co-operative is designed to give every household and business the opportunity to generate, store and control their own renewable energy at no upfront cost. Saving them money and making the future a place where all London buildings generate, store and share solar energy at the lowest possible costs for all London citizens.

Helping to eradicate #fuelpoverty and make our city a cleaner place to live and work in. Help #savetheplanet and #fightclimatechange.

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Given most London landlords do not live in the country, and they will put profits above all else, what is the government doing to fix this? The people who live and work here are the ones contributing to the economy and to the growth of...

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Given most London landlords do not live in the country, and they will put profits above all else, what is the government doing to fix this? The people who live and work here are the ones contributing to the economy and to the growth of culture.
Any house on the market, must be given priority to the people who reside in the country, starting with the local area.

The law must change to make it mandatory for new owners to live at least in the UK for the past year. In addition, the more houses someone owns, the less priority/chance this person has of acquiring new property.
Introduce maximum prices for new development areas, so greediness doesn’t detour from the primary objective, which is to provide affordable housing for people who do not own a home.

While new properties is important, so is the development of the new area. There are a parts of the city, where this is already experienced. Sadly developers are not forced to improve the area, and to help develop it further to become habitable. Many people suffer depression and anxiety after moving to these places. This is disgraceful.
Change the law to require areas to be developed along with the new buildings, and make prosperity a goal.

One last proposal. Please make property owners pay for council tax. Renters should not have to pay for it, as this is the only bill that cannot be changed. All the others are from service providers, which have a healthy competition, and the customer has the power to choose which one fits their needs better.
Surely, attention should be taken to rent rises as a result of the change for the owners, hence the law must accommodate to prevent this from happening.
I have travelled around Europe, and I have not seen yet a tax on property that is imposed on the renter. It is absurd!
Please see the petition for this:
https://fairershare.org.uk/proportional-property-tax/

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Avatar for - Koala

Can you compel private freeholders to use sink finds to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
 

I am a low income leaseholder who's house qualifies for the Green homes Grant and would benefit from improvement work but I cannot...

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Can you compel private freeholders to use sink finds to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
 

I am a low income leaseholder who's house qualifies for the Green homes Grant and would benefit from improvement work but I cannot afford most of the work even with a grant and was too late to the Warmer homes programme. Freeholders using a proportion of saved up sink funds (if no other major works are scheduled) to bring buildings up to current building regulations and to band C energy efficiency will save householders money on energy bills and help with climate targets.

Many leases say that unless the local or National authority says so, freeholders don't have to use sink fund money for energy efficiency improvements. Whilst householders have to pay increasing energy charges and there's no let up on service charges, sink funds or increasing ground rent, yet freeholders can just sit on sink find money.

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While we are building houses and possibly converting  unused office blocks into apartments,  is there a plan for more reservoirs to service the homes with water? A worry in climate crises with less rain & snowfall to create store. Also what...

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While we are building houses and possibly converting  unused office blocks into apartments,  is there a plan for more reservoirs to service the homes with water? A worry in climate crises with less rain & snowfall to create store. Also what plans for sewage systems? Total infrastructure review is needed! 

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My question is that the developments in London are NOT affordable housing. Many, many units over priced to the greed and profit margins of the developers. First time buyers or even anyone who really want to purchase a home in London cannot...

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My question is that the developments in London are NOT affordable housing. Many, many units over priced to the greed and profit margins of the developers. First time buyers or even anyone who really want to purchase a home in London cannot afford to do so because of the inflated unit costs. 

Units NEED to be built which are far more reasonably priced. The final price tag far outways the build cost which only creates huge profits for the developers. Young people will be stuck in generation rent if this is not addressed and fast. Where are the starter homes for the under 40's which the government promised? 

Private rents also through the roof. No housing stock to be seen for the social housing clients because the Councils sold all their stock during the right to buy scheme.

Common sense should of said if you sell one you build one. Now social housing clients have to bid for homes which will never be there for years to come. Stuck waiting in dirty b&b's and substandard poor accommodation while they wait on the never ending road.

A complete mess in regards to the housing situation in the UK which is not being addressed. This is Great Britain what is so great about this situation?

This is my question. Thank you 

 

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Major high-density developments all over London are not helping the real need for truly affordable housing but are lining the pockets of developers and buy-to-let landlords, as well as blighting neighbourhoods.

What can we as citizens...

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Major high-density developments all over London are not helping the real need for truly affordable housing but are lining the pockets of developers and buy-to-let landlords, as well as blighting neighbourhoods.

What can we as citizens of the city we love do to stop this?

 

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I am almost 53 years old, I work as a registered nurse in one of the top hospital in London. 
In 2011, after years of domestic violence and abuse, I was left homeless with my 2 children. 
We live in the borough of Enfield and we have been...

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I am almost 53 years old, I work as a registered nurse in one of the top hospital in London. 
In 2011, after years of domestic violence and abuse, I was left homeless with my 2 children. 
We live in the borough of Enfield and we have been living in temporary accommodation since. The bidding process is like playing the lottery.  Since becoming homeless, the council has moved us 3 times and we still live in temporary accommodation - paying someone else's mortgage.  We cannot decorate or make the place homely cause we have to move. 
My rent is more than half of my salary and we are living in poverty. 
Me and my children are facing extreme hardship and getting a suitable and affordable accommodation will help us significantly. I pay rent 60% of my salary and on top of all that, the council claims that Rent was overpaid when I worked part time for a short while to combine work and caring for my children as a single mother.
They wanted to garnish my wage from my employer. To avoid that I agreed to pay towards the overpayment. 

I have to take 3 buses to work and 3 buses back home because I cannot afford to pay for train tickets. 
At the end of the day, I cannot afford the basics in life and my mental health is struggling. 
As a band 5 nurse, how much do I earn?  I put my life and my children's lives at risk every time I go to work, working on the frontline in this pandemic. My daughter is in the vulnerable group because she has asthma and chronic lung disease due to preterm birth - born at 26 weeks, weighed in just 1LB 7 OZ. 
What is the reward for hard working? Social insecurities. Unconditional bias?

My job involves caring for people  I need to be able to focus on my job but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

 

 

 

 

 

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Why is the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Tower Hamlets saying that the Isle of Dogs must deliver way more then a fair share of new homes? 57% of all new homes in TH have to be built on the IoD and South Poplar (approximately 10% of...

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Why is the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Tower Hamlets saying that the Isle of Dogs must deliver way more then a fair share of new homes? 57% of all new homes in TH have to be built on the IoD and South Poplar (approximately 10% of borough). Other areas in TH do not have to deliver that much new housing despite having better transport links.  We are a community here and this plan is stressing it, our diverse community and already stressed resources.  That much construction in a small area is detrimental for so many reasons: health, physical and mental, quality of life affected for an unreasonable amount of time, resources: water, sewage, internet, .., transport, traffic (we have 1 little road), noise, pollution, negative effects on biodiversity (we have so much wildlife, birds and insects on our Island and a gorgeous farm), .. and on and on. It is unfair. Come visit us and you will see how you will destroy our lovely community.  Please meet new housing goals fairly.  Please insist those making these decisions visit the areas before you vote. Your careless votes destroy communities.

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WOULD THE MAYOR AND THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HOUSING OFFER TO FIRST TIME BUYERS BRIDGING LOANS TO ENABLE THEM CLIMB THE MORTGAGE LADDER? 

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While it is important to build new homes there are thousands of properties in London that have been empty not just for weeks or months but for YEARS!

Using these properties could solve the capitals rough sleeper problem.

There is a...

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While it is important to build new homes there are thousands of properties in London that have been empty not just for weeks or months but for YEARS!

Using these properties could solve the capitals rough sleeper problem.

There is a plethora of legislation available to encourage the owners and LAs to bring these properties back into use.

How are you working with LAs to maximise efforts and ensure these properties back into general use as quickly as possible?

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Care Agencies should be held accountable for their self employed live in Carers ! 
when they end a placement they put a foreign live in carer out on to the streets!?

why are they allowed to put people at Risk? 


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