Measures in its latest strategy, announced this morning, will support the programme of reform to the system for social housing that is already underway.
The Government will consult on 'Pay to Stay' proposals. This will mean that those social tenants on high salaries, such as household incomes of over £100,000 a year, will pay up to market rents if they want to continue living in taxpayer-subsidised homes.
Councils will be given new powers to reject applications for social housing from people who own a perfectly acceptable home of their own. And there will be stronger measures to help tackle the outrage of 50,000 unlawfully-occupied social homes - with a more detailed consultation to be published later this year.
The overly bureaucratic and complex model of council housing finance will be scrapped too so councils can manage their social housing stock more effectively.
Instead of the revenue generated from social housing being handed over to central Government and redistributed, councils will be able to keep their own receipts, giving them freedom to maintain their housing stock with more efficiency and transparency, in a way that meets local needs.
