The stark situation revealed by the Guardian’s front page (Landlords ‘rip off’ councils with £1bn bill for homeless, 2 January) is something local authorities like mine wrestle with on a daily basis. Many organisations and companies in the UK, in the housing sector, seem to lack some of the core values required to make real differences to people’s lives. It is now 2019; it cannot be right that profit comes before helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society. This needs to change. Councils not only need to build, but we must get tough and demand higher-quality housing for a better price. This includes the biggest issue of them all for residents – repairs and maintenance, where housing associations are often the worst culprits.
Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith
Deputy leader and lead member for housing, Kensington and Chelsea council
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