The leader of Peterborough City Council has defended his record as a private landlord after being criticised by a local tenants’ group.
Cllr Shaz Nawaz has responded to criticism from the Peterborough Tenants Union which said it was “disappointed” that he was promoting services “instructing subscribers how to maximise their profit from property”.
The Labour leader said under his leadership the Labour group has “consistently called for action to tackle homelessness and the shortage of decent affordable housing in our city”, including a recent election promise to build 3,000 new council houses.
Responding to an open letter from the Peterborough Tenants Union, Cllr Nawaz wrote: “Yes, I have done well in my business in the last 12 months and I make no apologies for that. I have built many more homes during a nationwide shortage of housing, a proportion of which will be rented out by housing associations in Lincolnshire at affordable rates.
“I have helped many tenants become first-time buyers through my advice, something that millions of working people in our country continue to aspire to. I have also supported my own valued tenants throughout the pandemic and can say honestly that I have never had a single complaint because I make it my business to ensure my tenants and their families are able to enjoy the homes.”
He added: “I am not ashamed of my business performance. My parents moved to Britain to create a better life for their family. I have used that opportunity to better myself and, through hard work and perseverance, I now have a decent business and employ and sub-contract to over 100 people who live mainly in and around Peterborough.”
He continued: “I am proud of the Labour group’s record on challenging the Conservative-made housing crisis in Peterborough and we will continue to call for action on this and campaign on policies that will finally begin to tackle this crisis if implemented.”
There is no suggestion that he is a rouge landlord or exploiting anyone so this is a total non story
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If he is Labour, then rouge is about right.
Had he been Tory, he would be powder blue. 😉
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Conservative made housing crisis? ehhh? I thought Gordon Brown was Labour chancellor. I recall listening to Radio 4 when Gordon Brown announced he was having a fire sale on our gold reserves and watched as he maxed out the country’s credit cards keeping GB artificially out of a world recession. The housing crisis can be traced back before Fannie Mae. I certainly was preparing for it in September 2005 when briefly Gordon Brown WAS going to allow private residential property to be part of a SIPP ( he quickly changed his mind- too late we’d heard him announce what IS fuelling the shortage of homes to buy)
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There may well have been a shortage under Labour but homeless children living in temporary accommodation has risen 88% since the Tories took hold. That’s just one indicative figure to demonstrate the issue.
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The point I was making was that it was Labour economic policy, vote buying policies, that are the foundation of the housing crisis. What we have now and will have going forward; a permanent shift in home ownership versus rented homes was instigated by Gordon Brown not the Conservatives.
Mr. Nawaz can have that plonked in a press release to perpetuate the colour politics rift in housing policy but it simply is not true. The sooner there is an apolitical solution to housing policy the better
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No mention of this chap being prosecuted or fined for misconduct so what’s the problem? He is a landlord not a charity. Of course he seeks to make a profit, otherwise why bother. I am sure that it is difficult to keep everybody in a tenant group happy all the time. The mere fact that he charges rent will upset the jealous non-property owning “all property is theft” minority. At least his council is in favour of building council houses. They should speak to the councillors where I live who just leave building to property developers who drip feed expensive shoddy houses onto the market while actively dodging the need to provide “affordable” housing and contribute to local infrastructure
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