Shelter - recently concentrating on attacking landlords for the qualities of their homes and letting agents for the size of their fees - has shifted its criticism towards the government for a predicted shortfall in its house building targets.
In online publication The Independent, the campaigning charity says the government will miss its target commitment to build one million homes by 2020 by more than a quarter unless radical reform takes place.
Forecasting consultancy Capital Economics, commissioned by Shelter, predicts the government would not meet its target under its current plans; instead, an eight per cent drop in house building is likely in the next year with the situation exacerbated by Brexit.
“Our housing shortage means millions of people are having to put their lives on hold –stuck in a cycle of sky high rents and instability” writes Roger Harding, director of communications at Shelter.
The charity now want the government to urgently support the buy-to-rent sector and to give public bodies the powers to commission small companies to build houses.
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While I understand some of the points they're making, I do sometimes get the impression that Shelter's sole purpose is to protest against something, anything, just to keep their name in the headline. They're clearly very PR-savvy - a bit like Russell Quirk at eMoov, in that respect - in that they are the go-to source for an easy quote or a damning survey.
I don't disbelieve their good intentions, but it does sometimes seem like Campbell Robb and his team are attacking for attacking's sake.
Completely agree Daniel. They sometimes go on the attack with poorly prepared "statements".
Shelter do a vital job, but - a little bit like James Corden and Clare Balding - they are suffering from being far too ubiquitous. If you appear all the time, offering your opinion on absolutely everything, and always looking to complain about something, you might start to irritate and annoy people.
I know that's Shelter's job, to shine a light on government incompetence, marginalised groups and those affected by the housing crisis - and most of the time I agree with what they say - but there is a sense that they're too keen to attack all the time, rather than taking a more balanced stance.
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