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| Cris Claridge, chair of Southwark Group of Tenants Organisations © Paul Coleman, London Intelligence 2015 |
Cris
Claridge has been a council tenant for some 40 years.
“I was privileged to get a council
property when I was a homeless single parent,” says Claridge.
“I still live in a council house and
even have a garden.”
Claridge chairs the Southwark Group of
Tenants Organisations.
She recalls how Margaret Thatcher’s ‘right-to-buy’
policy led to the loss of two million council homes nationally.
Absentee landlords now own half of
‘right-to-buy’ ex-council homes in Southwark, says Claridge.
“Landlords charge £350 per week rent for
an identical house to mine down my road,” adds Claridge.
Absentee
Claridge says the housing crisis can be
turned around.
“We must stop developers and profiteers
from building high-cost housing for absentee buyers who treat it as an
investment rather than as a home,” says Claridge.
“We must also campaign to abolish the
right-to-buy,” she adds.
“We need newly built homes protected
from right-to-buy.
“There’s no point Southwark Council
building 11,000 new council homes if they can be sold later.”
Breed
Council estates and tenants are unfairly
portrayed.
People who buy their council homes often
see themselves as homeowners and as “a breed apart”, says Claridge.
“In my experience, tenants make the
biggest positive contributions to life on an estate.”
Levels
Claridge also insists on rent controls.
“My neighbours in their late seventies
look after their two young grandchildren because the parents work full-time to
pay £1,000 rent per month,” says Claridge.
“Rents must be set at levels so people
can afford to live.
“Finally,
we must stop our politicians and senior council officers from colluding with
developers to dispose of our council homes.”
©
Paul Coleman, London Intelligence, February 2015.
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