Shelter’s new strategy document contains a number of untruths

‘Does the truth not matter to them?’ click here

Earlier this month the commercial charity Shelter issued a new strategy document. click here

The following quotations are taken from section 6. entitled “Rights for renters and an end to discrimination”:

“In the last two decades, as home ownership and the number of social homes have fallen, there has been an explosion in the number of households renting privately”

The first part is untrue. In the last two decades the number of owner-occupied dwellings increased by just over a million in England, and by 300,000 in Scotland and Wales.. This can be seen from Tables 102 and 104 which can be downloaded click here.

“In fact, the ending of a contract by a private landlord is now the leading cause of homelessness across the UK.” In fact, Shelter’s directors know that this is tautological nonsense,  Shelter’s own website says it is not a cause at all, never mind the leading cause. Click here

“We are not against private renting” Readers are invited to judge whether this is true or not.

“Our ground-breaking campaign to end the practice of so-called ‘No DSS’ adverts will be at the heart of our fight to end discrimination against those on benefits right across the housing system. This practice is unethical and unlawful.”

It is not unlawful. Shelter’s Director of Communications said on TV that this has not been established in a court of law, and a discrimination lawyer next to him confirmed it. Click here

“Shelter has unrivalled expertise in housing law, and our lawyers are fighting daily for the right to a home. [No matter how anti-social the tenant, or how many months of rent arrears: Click here] Now we will develop our use of strategic litigation to focus this expertise on issues where winning one case can change thousands of lives. We are already bringing a series of cases to highlight the unlawful nature of ‘No DSS’ practices.”

Winning such a case will not change thousands of lives for the better. Removing an alleged blanket ban, whose existence has been denied by the main agent accused by Shelter, click here will not make a single home available to benefits claimants that wasn’t available to them before. All it will do is raise their hopes in vain, and waste their time in establishing that they can’t afford the rent.

“We will campaign for improvements in conditions and consumer protection, and we’ll press the government to establish a genuine right to stay for renters who want enough security to be able to put down roots, or for their child to be able to stay in one place to complete their schooling [What 13 years?]. The UK government’s proposal for longer three-year tenancies in England is a welcome first step towards this right, but we cannot see any justification for England continuing to allow no-fault evictions when Scotland has already abolished them.”

Shelter doesn’t think 3-year tenancies would be sufficient. It wants Section 21 to be abolished so that tenants can stay for life. That will not improve their security; on the contrary, they will be evicted as landlords rush to leave the market. The PRS will shrink dramatically and as a consequence rents will go up, so those who aren’t made homeless will have to pay more.

Any claim made by Shelter should be treated with extreme caution.

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