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Lewisham

Renting in your borough: the facts

How many of us are there?

In 2015, the Office for National Statistics found 68,200 private renters– that’s a quarter of the borough. The current figure is probably higher, considering how much the housing crisis has deepened since then.

If renting is so bad, why don’t private renters just buy a house?

Because in Lewisham, the average home costs 11.61 times the average income. This isn’t bad compared to some parts of London, but it’s still out of reach for ordinary people.

Why can’t they get a council house then?

Because there are currently 9,058 households waiting for a council house in the borough.

Looks like we’re stuck in the private rented sector then. What’s it going to cost?

Monthly median average rents for Lewisham, recorded by the Valuation Office Agency, are below. Remember, these figures don’t include fuel or council tax bills:

Room in a shared house: £530
Studio: £850
One-bedroom flat: £1,050
Two-bedroom flat: £1,300
Three-bedroom flat: £1,600
House with four or more bedrooms: £2,200

That’s a lot. I guess that means a lot of private renters have to claim housing benefit to stay alive then?

Yes – 9,681 people in Lewisham need housing benefit to cover their rent.

And does housing benefit cover it?

No. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the maximum amount of housing benefit you can get, regardless of whether you’re a private renter (renting from a private landlord) or a social renter (renting from the council or a housing association). The monthly LHA in Lewisham, depends on which part of the borough you live in:

Room in a shared house: £351 or £396

One-bedroom flat: £670 or £850

Two-bedroom flat: £850 or £1,105

Three-bedroom: £1,010 or £1,378

House with four or more bedrooms: £1,342 or £1,789

How your council helps private renters: services

Can I talk to someone at the council about problems with my private landlord? 

Lewisham Council employs Private Sector Housing Fraud & Intelligence Officers who specialize in rooting out bad landlords. The officers work to protect renters from landlords who aren’t complying with legal obligations. The Private Sector Housing Fraud & Intelligence Officers will help you if your landlord doesn’t meet to their legal obligations in relation to your right to safety, return of your deposit at the end of your tenancy, and more.

Contact them via email or    or call the Rogue Landlord Hotline 020 8314 8688. To protect you from any possible intimidation or bullying, the team at Lewisham Council will not reveal your identity to your landlord.

If your landlord is harassing you or trying to evict you illegally, telephone the Customer Services Team for legal advice 020 8314 7007  

Do private landlords in Lewisham have to get a licence?

Mandatory HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) licensing scheme applies. Further, landlords in Lewisham need a license if their property is a House in Multiple Occupation above a commercial property, regardless of how many floors or different numbers of households are in it. This is part of an additional licensing scheme.

In Summer 2019, Lewisham Council consulted on extending property licensing. If responses to this consultation support the case, Lewisham Council will apply to the Secretary of State to license all privately rented homes in the borough.

Does Lewisham Council run a non-profit letting agency for private renters?

Lewisham Council does run a private lettings scheme, however, as is often the case, it seems to run more in the interests of the landlord than the tenants. They even get cash incentives of £1,500 just to keep their homes in order and treat their tenants properly! The scheme in Lewisham is available only accessible via referral from the Housing Options Team.

Does Lewisham Council have a PRS strategy as part of its housing policy?

Yes! Lewisham’s Housing Strategy 2015-20 aims is to achieve greater security and quality for private renters. The council wants to reduce rent levels to affordable rents (through working in partnership with other local authorities in the region), although this hasn’t actually happened yet. However, the creation of the Rogue Landlord Taskforce should have made improvements to conditions and quality for some private tenants.

Lewisham plans to create a Private Renters’ Charter. If you rent in Lewisham, and want to contribute or to know more, contact us.

How your council helps private renters: listening to them

How does Lewisham Council engage with renters?

A Private Renters’ Charter for Lewisham was one of Labour’s manifesto pledges in 2018. Now, we look forward to working with others to help Lewisham Council turn that pledge into a reality. If you rent in Lewisham, we’d be delighted to hear from you so please get in touch.

How your council helps private renters: enforcing the law

Councils have powers to prosecute landlords who break the law. Unfortunately, the time and money involved in so doing means that some councils don’t do it. Full licensing would allow councils to use civil, rather than criminal courts, and make it easier to hold bad landlords to account.

How many criminal landlords has Lewisham prosecuted recently?

Lewisham contributes to the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker. Members of the public can see details of successful prosecutions and fines for a year after enforcement.

 

Improving renting in your borough: what else campaigners should know

Councillors, who are elected politicans, and non-political officers, who are appointed to do a particular job, share responsibilities in local government. In Lewisham, you can contact:

Councillor Paul Bell
Cabinet Member for Housing
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020 8314 7047

Ben Reeve Lewis
Rogue landlord expert

Your borough

Find out about renting in your borough and what your politicians are doing about it:

Community Groups

Do you run a local community group or club somewhere in London? Do some of your members rent their homes from a private landlord? If you'd like us to give a 10 minute talk on how to be a more savvy renter, do please get in touch.

Email or call 020 3826 4783.

Twitter

Thank you very much for this @oxtenantsunion twitter.com/oxtenant…

About 3 weeks ago · reply · retweet · favourite

A "linguistic distortion by hostile forces is that council housing is “subsidised,” when, in fact, it generates a net surplus and receives far less public money than the private market." Yep. Well pleased to see @robbins_glyn telling it like it is tribunemag.co.uk/201…

About 3 weeks ago · reply · retweet · favourite

Another day, another lousy landlord. And yet more firm action from the #TradingStandards team @TowerHamletsNow >> bit.ly/2K8gowe

Last month · reply · retweet · favourite

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