Dear All
Alf Young on Newsnight Scotland once declared;
“I can take you to the slums of Barcelona”!
Why he was hanging round the slums of Barcelona is anyone’s guess.
Closer to home Glasgow has its areas of social deprivation, the ghettos and slums of Glasgow are well documented.
For example the Gorbals is known the world over.
In the Govanhill area an extensive problem has developed in the creation of private owned and rented out slums.
This has prompted the Govanhill Housing Association to ask the Scottish Parliament to set up an inquiry into the area.
What is required is more than money to address the problem, it requires a housing bill from the Government which sets out new tough regulation on the rental of housing and who is allowed to be a landlord.
It should also feature a requirement by landlords to ensure that over occupancy is strictly forbidden.
This bill should have powers to force slums landlords to maintain their properties to a decent standard.
Grants should also be made more available in certain areas designated as being of particular concern.
Failure should result in sanctions.
The sanctions should also include permanent refusal to be allowed to be a landlord in the City of Glasgow.
For those who flout the rules, other sanctions should include heavy fines and in some cases, property should be seized.
The conditions in Govanhill have been described as dangerous and intolerable.
These problems include;
rat infestation
mounting rubbish
substandard accommodation
structurally dangerous buildings
Over occupancy
So where is Steven ‘bin laden’ Purcell and the Labour council of shame?
Why isn’t he acting?
Alf Young on Newsnight Scotland once declared;
“I can take you to the slums of Barcelona”!
Why he was hanging round the slums of Barcelona is anyone’s guess.
Closer to home Glasgow has its areas of social deprivation, the ghettos and slums of Glasgow are well documented.
For example the Gorbals is known the world over.
In the Govanhill area an extensive problem has developed in the creation of private owned and rented out slums.
This has prompted the Govanhill Housing Association to ask the Scottish Parliament to set up an inquiry into the area.
What is required is more than money to address the problem, it requires a housing bill from the Government which sets out new tough regulation on the rental of housing and who is allowed to be a landlord.
It should also feature a requirement by landlords to ensure that over occupancy is strictly forbidden.
This bill should have powers to force slums landlords to maintain their properties to a decent standard.
Grants should also be made more available in certain areas designated as being of particular concern.
Failure should result in sanctions.
The sanctions should also include permanent refusal to be allowed to be a landlord in the City of Glasgow.
For those who flout the rules, other sanctions should include heavy fines and in some cases, property should be seized.
The conditions in Govanhill have been described as dangerous and intolerable.
These problems include;
rat infestation
mounting rubbish
substandard accommodation
structurally dangerous buildings
Over occupancy
So where is Steven ‘bin laden’ Purcell and the Labour council of shame?
Why isn’t he acting?
He is but very slowly, is he waiting on the good weather to come in?
Slum landlords are a problem in the area; one man called Mohammed Aslam was banned from renting out his estimated 39 properties after he failed to register and ran up council tax debts of more than £100,000.
One of his slums was a cockroach-infested flat in Allison Street, it was so bad it was closed down after it was found to be housing four adults and seven children with no hot water.
It is clear that the proliferation of private landlords in Govanhill area has resulted in social decline and physical deterioration of the fabric of the community.
Tough action is required now to turn this area around, at present; it is little more than a ghetto.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Slum landlords are a problem in the area; one man called Mohammed Aslam was banned from renting out his estimated 39 properties after he failed to register and ran up council tax debts of more than £100,000.
One of his slums was a cockroach-infested flat in Allison Street, it was so bad it was closed down after it was found to be housing four adults and seven children with no hot water.
It is clear that the proliferation of private landlords in Govanhill area has resulted in social decline and physical deterioration of the fabric of the community.
Tough action is required now to turn this area around, at present; it is little more than a ghetto.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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