A Labour-controlled council is inviting private rental sector representatives to a round-table event which it pledges will not be a talking shop but will take “real decisive action” to help the town’s housing shortage.

In a lengthy stream-of-consciousness press release, Oldham council says it’s trying to improve the housing situation in the town through a Selective Licensing scheme in certain areas “to ensure private landlords have a licence, and that they uphold certain standards for their tenants – and if they don’t we will take action.” It also says its Tenants Charter means “residents know what to expect from their landlords and how to get help if they need it. And when a landlord doesn’t carry out repairs and maintenance properly, we will investigate.”

However, it saves its strongest criticism for the government, accusing it of slashing the number of social homes built annually by some 30,000 across the UK.

Elsewhere in the release it says: “There are 7,500 families on Oldham’s social housing register – with almost 11,000 applications still being processed. Many of these families have been hopelessly bidding on properties, never to get one, through no fault of their own.  To put it bluntly – there simply aren’t enough homes to go round. In fact, it would take over a century to find homes for everyone. 

“For those ‘lucky’ enough to have a home: too many Oldhamers are living in terrible conditions, where they’re forced to put their children’s health at risk – just so they can keep a roof over their heads. Too many Oldhamers are living in overcrowded homes. Too many Oldhamers are struggling to afford to pay their rent and mortgages. 

“We’ve become hardened to the word crisis in recent years. Housing is the most basic of human rights. And yet, thousands of people don’t have it. This is absolutely a crisis. Can you imagine not having a place to call home for years? Never being able to put down roots? Your kids never sleeping in their own beds at night? 

This is the heartbreaking reality for so many people in our town.

“There are currently 470 homeless households in temporary accommodation. This number has doubled since the same month in 2021, when it stood at 233 households. The failure of the housing market is pushing families into dire straits. People who had ‘got on’ in life, are now finding themselves at the mercy of private landlords, lost jobs, failed businesses. The list goes on.”

The release says the council’s Housing Roundtable will bring together “key partners including council services, social housing providers, and representatives of the private rented sector – so we can collectively take local action. This won’t just be a talking shop. It’ll bring real, decisive action – and we’ll report back on what we’ve done.”