We are so used to bad news, but this is a bit of good news. Firstly, Lewisham Council has been awarded our full bid of £2,279,900 from the MHCLG. The funding comes from the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme. Secondly, the housing team has successfully moved 7 of the 8 rough sleepers the council was concerned about into the new rough sleeper pathway – meaning we had 7 fewer people sleeping rough in Lewisham a few nights ago (one of whom happened to be celebrating his 60th Birthday). It is really hard to see beyond the horrible cuts we are forced to make. When it gets too much, we should remember the small pieces of hope like supporting our fellow residents in the hardest part of their li
Text taken from https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/licence-checker-could-lead-to-rent-refunds. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is standing up for the safety and wellbeing of London’s private renters by launching a new online tool to help them discover if their landlord has properly licensed their home. Some tenants could be owed thousands of pounds in rent repayments if their landlord has failed to obtain the correct licence. Property licensing is an important tool that boroughs can use to enforce decent standards in the private rented sector, and for landlords to demonstrate that their property is suitable for occupation and managed to an acceptable standard. If the landlord
As of the 8th October, the council has resettled 101 individual rough sleepers into permanent social, private, supported or National Asylum Support Service Accommodation. There are 71 individuals still in accommodation arranged by Lewisham, including some rough sleepers accommodated since ‘Everyone In’ ended. Lewisham Council has prevented 766 homeless cases since the start of the pandemic. Our priority remains to tackle the housing crisis and support those who are or are at risk of becoming homeless.
Tonight at Mayor & Cabinet (M&C), I presented a number of reports. Reports are often seen as mundane but the policies M&C approved tonight (subject to scrutiny) will make a real difference to people's lives. The first report of note is the approval of our Housing and Homeless strategies. These strategies have been out for consultation. The Housing and Homelessness Strategies The Housing Strategy is from 2020 to 2026 and details the main priorities that the council will action until 2026. This document is substantially reduced compared to the outgoing strategy to make our housing policies clearer. The key priorities of the Strategy are: 1. Delivering the homes that Lewisham needs 2. Prevent