The proportion of overcrowded households in the private rented sector has doubled from over 5 per cent in 1995/6 to 11 per cent in 2014/15.
The 2011 Census indicates that 380,000 London households are overcrowded, while the latest English Housing Survey of 2014/15 found around 250,000 households were overcrowded.
A number of boroughs in London have introduced licensing schemes for the private rented housing sector. Newham was the first to introduce such a scheme in 2013 and has used it to identify poor landlords and to crack down on overcrowding.
Tomorrow, the Housing Committee will discuss the issue of overcrowding in London. Why is it difficult to come up with a definitive number of overcrowded homes? What are social housing providers doing to tackle overcrowding? Should the Mayor have a target to reduce overcrowding? The guests are:
- John Lumley, Director of Regeneration, London Borough of Hackney
- Amanda Amafor, Senior Environmental Health Officer, London Borough of Newham
- Ijay Onyechi, Head of Lettings, Residents Services, Peabody
- James Gleeson, Senior Policy Officer - Information and Analysis, Greater London Authority
The meeting will take place on Thursday, 15 March from 2:00pm in The Chamber (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE via webcast.
Follow us @LondonAssembly and take part in the meeting discussion using #AssemblyHousing and #Overcrowding
Notes to editors
- Agenda papers
- Sian Berry AM, Chair of the Housing Committee, is available for interviews. Please see contact details below.
- Housing Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Sam Casserly on 020 7983 4603. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.