Church leaders have called for ‘ethical’ lettings agencies to enter the London market who would only accept landlords who would charge cheaper rents and give longer tenancies.
The call follows a meeting of some 80 multi-denominational representatives who discussed the affordable housing crisis in the capital, including what will happen as benefit cuts bite.
Alastair Murray, deputy director of Housing Justice, a homelessness charity which organised the meeting, said some of the recommendations from the meeting might be ones that churches could take up nationally.
Recommendations are now being drawn up for further discussion.
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Comments
Its nothing to do with ethical letting agencies - its a simple, ill thought out business idea with little chance of success.
Lets have a count of hands, how many of us have landlords who are willing to accept a substantially lower than market rent - and it would need to be substantially lower to attract the tenants - to help people at the lower end of the rent scale.
The churches are the best placed people to operate a scheme like this by speaking to their 'flock' and seeing which landlords amongst them would want to be involved. I wonder how shocked they might be when they get the answer.
These guys are the biggest landlords in the world, enjoy a substantial revenue and have had more than their fair share of scandal. Let charity begin at home....
This is absolutely farcical! The "church" should look at their own set of accounts & assets before asking those who have worked hard for a living to empty their pockets into this diabolical situation. I am almost lost for words. keep religion out of politics & politics out of the lives of hard working individuals who are risking their livelihood to shelter those who are prepared to pay market value!.
I have worked with one of the CofE diocese in renting out empty properties at an old employer, they were well maintained if a little drab. But always huge buildings so not really suitable for the average family. The CofE could make a real dent in supporting lower rents if it wanted to redevelop its surplus properties but mostly sells them on to fund the rest of the church. The new Archbishop of Canterbury is supposed to have a lot of financial acumen maybe he can work on this.
We have a few landlords that are ministers. They are the shrewdest, strictest landlords we work for.
If they are so worried why doesnt the church donate some of its many bits of land and vicarages to be made into affordable housing? They have loads.... They could als start a housing association as theyve got plenty of money/land and most banks would lend to them.
Yes because landlords are going to take the low functioning scuzz of this world and then rent their "investment" for under the market value. I could go on.