Housing - Thangam Debbonaire

Houses in Bristol

The UK currently faces a housing crisis. Since 2010 we’ve seen a steep drop in investment for new affordable homes; billions of pounds cut from housing benefit; inaction on short-term lets; soaring rents in the private rented sector; and significant cuts to funding for homelessness services.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has shown us how important it is for everyone to have the right to a decent home. As the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing I am leading on this for the Labour Party.

On this page you will find my work in Parliament and in Bristol to campaign for meaningful action to tackle housing inequality, end homelessness and ensure that everyone has a place to call home.

My latest work on this issue

Three years after Grenfell, government inaction still risking thousands of lives

Many people across the country are desperate for help to remove the unsafe cladding on their homes. They have contacted me as Shadow Housing Secretary to help draw attention to this problem. They had no say in it being put there but are being made to suffer the consequences. The…

Zero carbon homes are more important than ever

Today Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick claimed that his is committed to climate-friendly, zero carbon homes, even though his own target falls far short of this important standard. Their new ‘Future Homes Standard’ aims to cut current emissions by 75-80% by 2025 – hardly the ambition or urgency needed to respond…

Government incompetence causing an evictions crisis

For thousands of people worried about paying the rent this month, this must feel like Groundhog Day. On Monday, the ban on evictions will expire, allowing landlords to take their tenants to court and evict them. The deadline on 20 September follows an extension of the ban in June and…

Revealed: Sunak’s secret £1bn giveaway to second home owners and landlords

As Labour’ Shadow Housing Secretary, I have written a letter to my opposite number Robert Jenrick, calling on the government to reverse a £1.3bn bung to second home owners and landlords snuck out by the Chancellor this week. Following the Chancellor’s economic statement on Wednesday, the Treasury slipped out an…

The government must prevent a spike in evictions this autumn

The coronavirus crisis will not affect us all equally. For people on precarious incomes who rent their homes, there is a real risk that they will fall into arrears and be evicted. The government has banned evictions until the autumn, but the economy will take much longer to return…

Urging the government to take action – my letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

People should not fear losing their homes or going back to sleeping rough. Today, as Labour’s Housing spokesperson, I wrote to the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, urging him to end rough sleeping, address the problems for people who rent their homes, and prevent a…

A once-in-a-generation chance to end rough sleeping

While we all know about the health emergency and the economic problems caused by COVID-19, there is also an emergency in housing. If the government does not respond to this crisis in the right way, many more people will be forced from their homes and end up sleeping on the…

Urgent action to protect renters in the COVID crisis

Unless the government acts fast, we could see an unprecedented spike in evictions and homelessness, as the economic repercussions of the coronavirus crisis are already hitting people’s ability to pay their rent. As Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, I’ve put forward a five-point plan the government needs to…

COVID-19 and housing – my letter to the government

In this time of national lockdown, decent homes are more important than ever. And the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated many inequalities, forcing some people to the brink of homelessness In my new role as shadow Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness, I have put forward a number of pressing…

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