Labour urged to help poor home owners

The Chartered Institute of Housing has urged Labour to provide
more help to home owners who make up half of the country’s lowest
income earners.

The institute claims owner occupiers only receive 8 per cent of
the available state help towards housing costs, and the majority of
unfit dwellings are owner-occupied and about 30 per cent of
dwellings in the sector are in disrepair.

Among the measures the institute wants to see is a target date
for tackling poor living conditions in the private sector, as there
is for publicly-owned homes. It also wants a new scheme for
renovation grants to direct private cash to private home
owners.