The government is planning a £3m programme to combat the
housing shortage by opening up unused rooms in properties across
the country for rental. It will be supported by an ambitious
Linux-based IT project.
The Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship will begin a
nationwide audit of the number of spare rooms in the UK later this
year. It plans to use an open source database to analyse the
results.
Homeowners with more than 10 sq ft of unused space will be
offered incentives to offer the space, classed as a "spare room",
for rent.
"Providing affordable housing in the face of a rising population
and the time it takes to build new developments has made the
measure necessary," the department said. "Getting it right will
depend on a rigorous analysis, which is why we have invested
heavily in IT to support the project."
The database will be run and maintained outside current
government contracts. An independent startup, Datadrive Information
Computers, will manage the project. The database will run Microsoft
Access on a customised version of Linux with specially designed
middleware to manage data portability between the applications.
"The project has the means to create real social difference. The
database and analysis software should help us house 200,000 people
by the end of the year," said the company's chief executive Helen
Back.
The department said it was looking to offer council tax breaks
to homeowners who rent out rooms. It is also examining proposals to
make renting compulsory. "We are examining the legal implications
of compulsory renting," said a spokesman.
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