The Return of Rachman?

Housing conditions in Britain are among the worst in Western Europe according to a major study reported in the Independent today.

It warns that homelessness is on the rise and predicts the return of unscrupulous landlords like the infamous Peter Rachman, who exploited his London tenants in the 1950s and 1960s. the crisis is most acute in London, where housing costs are about 50 per cent greater and childcare costs much higher than nationally. Almost 4,000 people are sleeping rough on London's streets, an increase of 8 per cent since last year. There is little sign that the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's target of ending rough sleeping by next year will be met, the report says. The number of families on waiting lists in London doubled to 362,000 between 1997 and 2010 – and now accounts for more than 20 per cent of the national waiting list. Yet more than 6,000 council homes are empty in London, nearly a third because they need repairs, with more than 2,300 going without tenants for more than a year

Today's blueprint recommends the housing crisis should be tackled by the provision of 500,000 green and affordable houses and flats a year for the next seven years, including bringing empty homes back into use.

Dr Stephen Battersby, president of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said "Too many people are paying too much for their accommodation relative to incomes. Too many properties pose a risk to health and safety, and the cost to the NHS of treating housing-related illness is way too high. Housing is fundamental to public health and well-being..."

See how a socialist society would solve the housing problem here