ChatterBank1 min ago
Housing Market Broken, Ministers Say Ahead Of White Paper
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At last ! The Tories get the message.
We need more housing.... a case of the bleeding obvious if ever there I saw one.
At last ! The Tories get the message.
We need more housing.... a case of the bleeding obvious if ever there I saw one.
Answers
I realise some will not agree on this but much of the housing crisis today stems from Thatcher selling off council houses in the 1980's. An electoral bribe if I ever saw one. I appreciate that people want to own their own homes and that is a good thing - but these properties were often sold off at heavily discounted prices. Setting aside that point, it can perhaps...
08:33 Tue 07th Feb 2017
This is not just about Council houses it is about houses in general. The current problem in the private sector is raising capital which is now squeezed due to knee jerk reaction on the Banks meaning they have to hold back too much capital. In addition there has been too much attention paid to various 'Newts' meaning that applications are squashed or become too expensive to fight.
The other problem is in Brownfield sites. There are many properties that should be rebuilt or at least bought up to standard. However thanks to the EU regulations skips are taxed to the hilt meaning an unnecessary tax is put on redevelopment. In addition VAT on new builds can be reclaimed on redevelopment it is not.
On the subject of council houses there has been nothing to stop councils building them, indeed our Conservative council has recently done just that. Has your labour council done the same?
And lets not forget endless swarms of migrants have stressed the infrastructure beyond its breaking point.
Interestingly labour have just banged on about house ownership falling!
The other problem is in Brownfield sites. There are many properties that should be rebuilt or at least bought up to standard. However thanks to the EU regulations skips are taxed to the hilt meaning an unnecessary tax is put on redevelopment. In addition VAT on new builds can be reclaimed on redevelopment it is not.
On the subject of council houses there has been nothing to stop councils building them, indeed our Conservative council has recently done just that. Has your labour council done the same?
And lets not forget endless swarms of migrants have stressed the infrastructure beyond its breaking point.
Interestingly labour have just banged on about house ownership falling!
They have, but I doubt that they will recognise the real problems and unfortunately labour are trying to make political capital rather than help.
This needs to be a long term plan so it would be useful if the opposition came up with viable and meaningful suggestions they they too could work with when they get into power.
This needs to be a long term plan so it would be useful if the opposition came up with viable and meaningful suggestions they they too could work with when they get into power.
YMB....I don't think there is anybody that says that we don't have a housing crisis, because we clearly do !
For any Plan, from any Party to be effective, cooperation with Local Authorities is essential, and these come in all political flavours. There may also be start-up money needed, as it was after the War.
I agree that in-fighting between Labour and the Tories isn't helpful. Perhaps we should band together and solve this very crucial problem.....it would be nice if it works !
For any Plan, from any Party to be effective, cooperation with Local Authorities is essential, and these come in all political flavours. There may also be start-up money needed, as it was after the War.
I agree that in-fighting between Labour and the Tories isn't helpful. Perhaps we should band together and solve this very crucial problem.....it would be nice if it works !
The housing market is not broken everywhere. There are lots of houses for sale around us and a whole housing estate of part-ownership homes where you can get a 3 bed starter home for under £30k for a 25% share.
Problem is there are no secure jobs. There are semi detached family homes in our town a 2 minute walk from the main N-S rail line you can buy for £60k. Yes its two hours into Kings X but people would commute if they could afford the rail prices.
Decentralisation and better public transport would go a long way to helping the housing market.
Problem is there are no secure jobs. There are semi detached family homes in our town a 2 minute walk from the main N-S rail line you can buy for £60k. Yes its two hours into Kings X but people would commute if they could afford the rail prices.
Decentralisation and better public transport would go a long way to helping the housing market.
there you go a few houses to browse if yu fancy living oop north
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The assumption in the OP (and supported by some posters n this thread) is that the main (possibly sole) reason that the system is "broken" is that there are too few houses and, further, that this shortage is due to the delinquency or malice of the Tories. This may be true in part. It is also true (as acknowledged in the BBC link - 250,000 new homes "needed" each year - and in a couple of posts here) that housing crisis is just as much due to an increase in demand.
A few illustrative examples taken from a recent report (on social integration, not housing per se):
"1.23. In the year ending December 2015, the ‘net’ immigration figure was 333,000 – but emigration does not really ‘cancel out’ immigration; it is the total churn in population that can alter the characteristics of a neighbourhood and the net figure of 333,000 reflected almost a million people in total arriving in or leaving the country over 12 months. Additionally, the placement of asylum seekers across the country – often in poorer communities – and the presence of an unknown number of illegal immigrants, adds to the level of change being experienced.
1.24. Higher birth rates among foreign born parents are also contributing to the growing diversity of the UK - while foreign born residents made up 13% of the population in 2011, 27% of births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK (predominantly to Polish, Pakistani and Indian mothers).
1.25. The impact of these changes is far reaching.
1.26. We were told on a visit to Sheffield that more than 6,000 people of Roma or Eastern European heritage (of which more than half are under the age of 17) live predominantly in one ward. The impact on schools was evident with the number of EU nationals’ children having increased from 150 to 2,500 in five years.
1.27. At a national level, 18% of homelessness acceptances in 2015-16 were foreign nationals – more than double the number in 2009-10 – with implications for who gets priority for social housing."
A few illustrative examples taken from a recent report (on social integration, not housing per se):
"1.23. In the year ending December 2015, the ‘net’ immigration figure was 333,000 – but emigration does not really ‘cancel out’ immigration; it is the total churn in population that can alter the characteristics of a neighbourhood and the net figure of 333,000 reflected almost a million people in total arriving in or leaving the country over 12 months. Additionally, the placement of asylum seekers across the country – often in poorer communities – and the presence of an unknown number of illegal immigrants, adds to the level of change being experienced.
1.24. Higher birth rates among foreign born parents are also contributing to the growing diversity of the UK - while foreign born residents made up 13% of the population in 2011, 27% of births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK (predominantly to Polish, Pakistani and Indian mothers).
1.25. The impact of these changes is far reaching.
1.26. We were told on a visit to Sheffield that more than 6,000 people of Roma or Eastern European heritage (of which more than half are under the age of 17) live predominantly in one ward. The impact on schools was evident with the number of EU nationals’ children having increased from 150 to 2,500 in five years.
1.27. At a national level, 18% of homelessness acceptances in 2015-16 were foreign nationals – more than double the number in 2009-10 – with implications for who gets priority for social housing."
so selling houses twenty years ago
has decreased the housing stock ?
but the number of houses doesnt change
( kinda one family in each house ) so it is the number which is the thing and not who owns what ....
and
//the maximum discount available to tenants to £75,000 - £100,000 in London//
whose pocket does this money come out of by the way ?
it is tax payers money that you are just giving away to one lucky bidder ?
and just in case someone argues that a discount is income neutral - it isnt really
Suppose the council has a spending budget of 200k and then suddenly gives a discount of 100k on a ssale then it is not gonna have that as income and will have to raise it elsewhere ( us)
has decreased the housing stock ?
but the number of houses doesnt change
( kinda one family in each house ) so it is the number which is the thing and not who owns what ....
and
//the maximum discount available to tenants to £75,000 - £100,000 in London//
whose pocket does this money come out of by the way ?
it is tax payers money that you are just giving away to one lucky bidder ?
and just in case someone argues that a discount is income neutral - it isnt really
Suppose the council has a spending budget of 200k and then suddenly gives a discount of 100k on a ssale then it is not gonna have that as income and will have to raise it elsewhere ( us)
-- answer removed --
Ok - I'll be brief because I'm off down the pub now. Why didn't Labour build social housing while they were in power under Blair ? Because the proceeds from the sales of council housing had already been squandered by the Tories on tax cuts for the high earners etc. For labour to undertake a massive social housing programme, they would have had to impose a lot of new taxes which would have been about as popular as a randy dog at a "Miss Lovely Legs" competition.
It's like asking your neighbour if he wouldn't mind paying off your 10K credit card debt - oh and can he pay for your next holiday while he's in a generous mood. If it WAS Labour had sold off the housing stock, they would have REINVESTED the proceeds in new council housing - that is the essential difference. As our American friends are fond of saying " Do the Math !!"
It's like asking your neighbour if he wouldn't mind paying off your 10K credit card debt - oh and can he pay for your next holiday while he's in a generous mood. If it WAS Labour had sold off the housing stock, they would have REINVESTED the proceeds in new council housing - that is the essential difference. As our American friends are fond of saying " Do the Math !!"
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