AN impassioned plea was made by Reading parent facing homelessness as the council seeks to end a scheme aimed at giving renters a long-term home.
Earlier this spring, Reading Borough Council announced a consultation over the future of its Homes For Reading scheme. Launched in 2016, it bought 101 homes across the town, and rented them out.
Now, it is considering placing the homes into its housing stock and repurposing them for keyworkers.
To do this, it must take vacant possession of the homes, meaning the people living in them will need to move out. An estimated 400 people will be at risk as a result.
A petition has been signed by 1,121 people and was presented to a Reading Borough Council policy committee meeting held on Tuesday, April 22.
Presenting it, one of the affected tenants said: “It is vital that we address the lack of suitable accommodation and the cost of private rentals and the broken promises that we have been left with and a state of distress.
“The council’s shortage of affordable available housing options and the soaring prices of rentals have created an unbearable burden for many families already.
“We are deeply rooted in our homes, jobs, schools, communities, and health teams, making any disruption to our living arrangements not only financially bad but emotionally devastating as well.
“Our children’s wellbeing, education and sense of stability are also at stake here.”
The petitioner said some tenants have already moved out because of the instability.
She added that families would be lumbered with the financial burden of moving out, and that tenants were promised stability when they moved in.
She said: “The promise that we could stay in our homes as long as we want or needed has now been shattered.”
The council’s Labour administration has argued that the best course of action is to wind up the company as Homes for Reading was funded through loans from the council, which it is unable to pay back.
Cllr Ellie Emberson (Labour, Coley), Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for housing, said: “We fully acknowledge the impact of the possible decision on current tenants – as stated above we will be working intensively with all households towards other housing options, and it is not our intention to formally evict anyone if this can be avoided.
“It is, of course, regrettable that the original vision for Homes for Reading, of offering long-term stable homes, is in our view no longer viable for the long term.
“We are committed to helping all tenants find suitable alternative homes if the decision to end their current tenancies is taken.”
She said the council does not intend to formally evict anyone if that can be avoided.
The petition was started by a dad-of-four Raven Lee, who lives with his wife Rowan in Caversham. Mr Lee was unable to attend the meeting to present the petition.
The consultation on the future of Homes for Reading closed on Easter Sunday, March 31.
