Rural homelessness has doubled in the last 2 years and the sharp increase is now greater than in our towns and cities More investment and publicity is needed for rural housing services to reduce these growing figures.

Vulnerable asylum seekers in the UK are often placed in ‘squalid’ housing provisions, leaving thousands of refugees no option but to live in damp and dirty homes, as this is their only safety net from homelessness. The appalling conditions and living in these abject conditions can lead to serious health complications, raising serious safeguarding concerns as the country’s treatment of asylum seekers falls under deep scrutiny.

During the pandemic, 700,000 renters were served with Section 21 notices, aka No-Fault Eviction notices. These allow Landlords to evict tenants without a reason at short notice, as opposed to section 8 evictions where a tenant is served on the grounds that they have broken the terms of their tenancy. Thankfully, for much of the pandemic, there has been a much needed ban on evictions, however, since the 1st of June this ban has ended leaving many renters threatened again with losing their home to these unfair evictions. Identifying the housing insecurity Section 21 creates for renters and its link to revenge evictions and rogue landlords. The Government promised in its 2019 Manifesto to abolish No-fault evictions as part of their 'Better deal for renters' pledge. However, no such Bill to this effect has been introduced. While there had been consultations during 2019 for a Renters’ Reform Bill, which includes the abolition of section 21, the government has since stalled excusing their inaction on dealing with the urgency of the pandemic. Now, however, given the cliff edge situation many households face, threatened with homelessness in the midst of a pandemic due to the end of the Covid ban on evictions, there is an urgency for this bill to be passed for the sake of thousands of people unfairly being evicted from their homes. This petition calls on the government to deliver on its campaign promise now! Finally, put an end to one of the leading causes of homelessness. And make renting a secure tenancy option. Renters deserve better, No more excuses! #endsection21 #rentersarewaiting

Since the Grenfell fire in June 2017 which claimed 72 lives, thousands of other housing blocks nationwide have been identified as having flammable cladding systems which contributed to the Grenfell tragedy. Residents in these housing blocks are facing ridiculously high costs for insurance, waking watches and remedial works to remove the cladding, despite them not being at fault. The Government pledged £5 billion to remove all ACM Grenfell style cladding on buildings over 18 meters, however this is not enough money and 4 years on over 300 buildings still have ACM cladding systems. This figure does not include other flammable cladding systems and buildings under 18 meters. Residents live in constant fear of fires in their buildings. Sarah, a first-time buyer, bought her flat in Leeds at 28. At 29 she went bankrupt due to the crisis. Sarah will not be the only one to go bankrupt - thousands, if not millions, more will go bankrupt too. The Government must protect all residents from the cost of fixing unsafe buildings and they need to make more funding available so that all buildings can be made safe in the next 12 months.

In 2019, there was 280,000 people made homeless according to Shelter. This in itself highlights how the UK should follow in Scotland and Wales' footsteps by abolishing the RTB scheme this will help to protect the social housing and will allow for local authorities to house families on waiting lists. One of the main issues surrounding RTB is that the amount of social housing that is sold off, is almost never replaced as the UK Government previously promised due to a severe lack of funding within the housing markets. It can also be seen through Government statistics that some social housing is sold for around 5 times the price of the original Right To Buy price, showing how the RTB scheme is not so much in the peoples favour but now rather private landlords and for private developers sales. Join the fight of #goodbyeRTB and help us abolish the scheme that no longer favours the UK's people.

Young people are becoming more and more unlikely to own their own home due to the lack of affordable housing and the high prices of these so called 'affordable' houses. This is increasing youth homelessness and driving those who do own a home into poverty. 121,000 16-24 year olds were homeless or at risk of homeless in the UK in 2020, this is not acceptable and action is needed from the government to prevent this figure from rising even further as time goes on.

Ezekiel Herman is a Dad of four who is the only tenant in his tower block: Saxelby House on the Druids Heath estate. Ezekiel's neighbours have all been cleared from the block as part of the £42million regeneration the council has imposed upon the area. Ezekiel has been on his own in the block for seven months and desperately wants to leave too - the block is unsafe, cold and scary now it's empty. But Birmingham City Council refuse to offer Ezekiel a suitable alternative property and are now trying to evict him. They will only offer him 1 bedroom properties which would mean he would be unable to spend time with his children or care for them when needed. When Ezekiel appealed this, he was offered 2 bedroom properties - but only in retirement blocks with wardens and safety alarms which they have admitted "the children would not be able to live in". Birmingham City Council claim that this is due to their reallocation policy, which "suits the city but will not make everyone happy." Despite numerous requests by Ezekiel, interventions by his doctor who has made clear that this has affected his health, and proof that he is responsible for the care of his children, they have refused to budge. Ezekiel is not the only person affected by this policy. We have heard from other residents who felt pushed out of their homes after Birmingham City Council informed them that turning down property offers would result in them being taken to court. Some residents were lucky to find a property they were happy with. But more are unhappy: they have been made to move far away from schools, jobs and their families, or accept properties in poor condition. At the root of this is the choice Birmingham City Council made at the beginning of the regeneration to evict all affected residents and demolish towers before building any more homes. This means that they are increasing the number of Brummies who need council houses by hundreds, but building no extra properties to house them. This affects not just the people of Druids Heath, but everyone in Birmingham, and adds to the chronic social housing shortage in the city. As more clearances are due to take place on Druids Heath, and with the future of the entire estate currently unclear, this policy must be changed, more homes must be built, and Ezekiel and all his neighbours must be treated fairly.

Right now, an estimated 353,000 private renters are in arrears. Rent arrears have doubled since the beginning of Covid, and time is running out for the Government to prevent a homelessness crisis. Private renters are struggling because of the pandemic, and the Government has not offered enough enough support for those who have lost income. We need a Covid Rent Debt Fund to clear arrears, so that they cover average rents. Otherwise, thousands of renters will be extremely vulnerable to losing their homes, relying on their local councils to be rehoused, and risking homelessness, in just a couple of weeks’ time. Why we need a covid rent debt fund now. On 1 June the ban on bailiff evictions, which have been in place during the lockdowns, will be lifted. The courts have been processing evictions since September, which means that thousands of tenants will start being made homeless by mid-June. 60% of private renters had no savings at the start of the pandemic and a further 18% have had to use savings to pay their rent in the past year. How can these families and households afford to pay the rent, when they have experienced drops in their incomes, redundancies or a loss of business? The simple answer for many is they cannot. To make matters even worse, for the record number of people who now rely on Universal Credit because of the pandemic, many are now finding that benefits are not enough to cover the rent. People like Gareth from Worcestershire have had no choice but to fall into debt. He contacted us in April to tell us his story. “Since April 2020 my contracting business hit a full stop and I have been without income since that time… After 8 months I explained the situation to my rental agent who offered a slightly reduced monthly payment but still to be owed. So no benefit, just additional debt.” Renters are one of the most economically vulnerable groups in the country, and yet the Government still has not offered them more support. We need COVID rent debt fund.

The fence has to go!

Right now, landlords can evict tenants without giving a reason, using Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act. The Government pledged to end these unfair evictions in 2019, but have not delivered on this promise. Losing your home through no fault of your own is never easy, but during a pandemic, it can be dangerous. Last March, the Government promised us that no one would lose their homes because of Covid, but renters are currently being evicted because of section 21, even in lockdown. My name is Jacqueline. At the start of the pandemic I was working for a care agency out in the community, ensuring that vulnerable people were being properly and well cared for in their homes. The stress from the job, made worse by the PPE scandal, finally took its toll on my mental health in June 2020 and, on the orders of my GP, I was medically signed off from work. This led to me having to apply for Universal Credit whilst also looking for another job, in what was and still is, a very difficult time. I had to wait five weeks for my first Universal Credit payment which meant that I was immediately plunged into debt. I had a small amount of debt before, but had almost paid this off. The landlord knew about my situation but was not remotely interested. I was issued with a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice in August 2020. What followed was numerous emails from the letting agency, constantly wanting updates on when I would be leaving the property. The moving costs were too expensive and I could not find anywhere else for myself and my daughter to go. This meant we did not leave the house at the end of the eviction notice and the pressure from the agency grew even worse. Each time I received an email I just felt so harassed, as though a tremendous weight had been put on me. My landlord has now applied to the court to have me evicted. The law means they don’t even need a reason. I am now facing the reality of being made homeless and with nowhere to go. The Government promised that people like me would not lose their home due to covid-19. But that’s exactly what’s happening. It’s been almost two years since they promised to end unfair evictions, but I’m now facing homelessness in the middle of a pandemic. Everyone deserves a safe and secure home - that's why I reached out to Generation Rent - the Government must stop dragging their feet and deliver on their promise to end unfair evictions.

People died and many are suffering. The wrong people are being forced to pay and live in mental turmoil not knowing what is going to happen with no clear news on how this will be resolved. It’s simple mega rich should pay money back not residents who bought or rent property’s that were built not fit for purpose

Leaseholders in buildings over 18 meters high or that have more than six floors will have the remedial costs paid, but the many thousands of leaseholders in apartment blocks with fewer floors or that are less than 18 meters high will have to cover the costs themselves. The changes in the law regarding the specification, testing and suitability for purpose of cladding and insulation materials was long overdue, but it was never the fault of any leaseholder that developers were allowed to rely on inadequate tests to validate unfit materials, and it was never the fault of any leaseholder that the new laws governing the selection of materials were to be applied retrospectively. The new laws apply to ALL apartment blocks, NOT just those with more than six floors or that are more than 18 meters high, so it is is perverse and grossly unfair that the financial support does not apply to all affected leaseholders. I appreciate there is an argument held by some that taxpayer's money should not be used for this purpose in any case. Even so, whatever the rights and wrongs are with that particular point of view, the treating of leaseholders differently depending on the height of the building they live in is arbitrary. It goes against natural justice and cannot be justified by rational argument.