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Post by Yellow River on Feb 5, 2011 9:55:55 GMT
Around one million privately let homes in England are so substandard they are dangerous, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has said. The organisation has warned those figures are set to rise, citing a lack of social housing, and cuts to housing benefit and legal aid. Councils say they are doing what they can to tackle the problem but argue clear, workable legislation is needed. Local authorities in England have said their hands are tied because proposals they thought were going to help the situation - such as a national landlords' register - have been scrapped by the coalition government. The CIEH said unscrupulous landlords were exploiting the lack of rented accommodation, and there were fears that cuts to housing benefit could make the situation worse and force tenants to live in unsafe buildings, often with exposed electrics, mould and damp. The number is expected to rise due to people not being able to afford to buy homes, while local authorities push people into the private rented sector as they try to tackle waiting lists for social housing. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12371904
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