Off Topic Political Debate

Why do people want to rent but not to buy in LIncs? Because prices are not rising?
Housing is not something we should allow foreigners to use as "investments" Businesses yes but the housing should be for people who live here - whether born here or immigrants.
One of Thatchers biggest mistakes was not to re-invest money from sale of council houses in new housing. Never mind social housing and housing benefits(which drive rents up), councils in areas of housing shortage should be encouraged(or obliged) to build new council houses - for rent by the council - as it used to be. Perhaps it could also be linked with a right to buy after say 10 years at a small discount to then market price and sale proceeds to go into new council housing stock.
Where to get the money - well scrapping renewal of Trident would provide the first Forty BIllion.

 

It actually annoys me to think this even needs discussion. Scrapping it is surely the most obvious no brainer there could be.

 

Good to see some common sense agreement here....

Leo..... People just dont want to live in rural lincs.... lovely area but no economoy other than farming and transport links are so poor... it is a backwater sadly..

 

You say that housing is not something which we should allow to be used by foreign investors, but how do you relate this to the thousands of Britons who have bought second homes in other countries - in the past it was in France or Spain, now more for investment in Rumania or Bulgaria ? Also the buying of second homes, which are not lived in, in some parts of the UK. such as on Exmoor, forces prices up in those areas but forces locals to leave (West country wages being some of the lowest in England) - this completely destroys local infrastructures in places like Cornwall and parts of Devon.

 

Good point.....
I guess we need to clarify what we mean by foreign.... non-EU Russia China etc ??

Very good rationale here for more social housing....

The whole notion that we need to own our own properties keeps us in thrall for our entire working lives.... crazy really..... but of course a fundamental tenet in the present Govt's philosophy

 

It's also an interesting contradiction - we are being told we'll have to be more flexible in our working arrangements as we cannot expect jobs for life but there isn't the same encouragement to be more flexible in your living arrangements which, in many ways, would go hand in hand with a more flexible working life. This, of course, assumes you are not already buying your own house before anyone starts .

 

As I pointed out the other day, 96% of Russians own their own homes and there are similar figures for former eastern block countries, compared to 65% in the UK and France. Germany is rather an exception where the figure is 46%. People do want to own their homes, and given a chance will strive to do so. It is what is the best way to give them the chance that needs addressing.

 

I think the dif in Russia is cost. Paradoxically a communist system but house prices mean property is affordable... and there is not the compulsion to buy and sell which the UK property market thrives on.

 

Rather than concentrating on building council houses the government should learn from the French by encouraging smaller building companies to obtain land, put in the infrastructure, roads, drainage etc then sell individual plots at affordable prices. The recent changes to planning laws has freed up more plots but still too much control is at council level. Many people demand more house building as long as it is not near them.

It has taken me 10 years to obtain planning permission to build a house on a brownfield site. Some of the least attractive areas of greenbelt should be seriously considered for building on. The housing problem will only be solved by increasing supply and reducing demand. Having controls of our borders would help.

 

Of course house prices anywhere but London and the top end in the south east have nothing to do with immigration..... and those prices are forced up by the wealthy from those countries we are fostering trade links with etc... Our friends in Saudi, Russia and China for example.

I have yet to see one good housing policy to keep prices down and make purchasing affordable....

 

Lots of other countries have restrictions on non nationals (foreigners) buying their housing stock. I was not actually saying that we should not allow foreigners to buy but that we should not encourage it - through any form of tax or other incentive. The government of the UK should have its first duty to people already living here, working here, paying taxes here, having families and family life here - not to people who live in other countries but see the UK as a place to get rich quick by buying up our housing as an investment. I would expect France, Spain and indeed every other country to adopt the same principle to encourage family life in their country. Unless it has changed I believe that people who make gains selling second homes pay full tax on those gains - it would be hard to prevent a person buying a second home but you do not have to give them tax incentives.

 

OK - simillar then to the problem we had selling our house in Carmarthen - the market there is flat - but there is no thriving rental market there either but you seemed to suggest there was in Lincs - which puzzled me.

Foreign to me are all non UK residents
We need a lot of smaller cheaper housing for starter homes to enable people to either buy or rent affordably. I am not naturally drawn to council housing but it did seem to work - and enabled people like my parents to get a house and then save for the deposit to buy their own.
People want to buy their own homes so they are not paying rent in retirement. Not really crazy. More crazy when you have to pay ridiculously high rents to profiteering landlords who are subsidised to rip off ordinary people. My daughter bought last year and her mortgage cost is lower than the rent she was paying - and one day the house will be hers.

 

The Government is remedying that as we speak - give it 20 years and there'll be no such thing as retirement

 

Didn't you claim to have started in a council house that you then bought?

 

yes

 

So why shouldn't others enjoy the same cheap deal as you got?

 

Because I prefer the government to help young couples to have a personal stake in their dwelling rather than pay rent. Home ownership encourages pride in their accommodation rather than leaving the responsibility to an authority.

 

The trouble is that a lot of young (and nowadays not so young) people are not able to commit to home ownership - their pay could be low and their job uncertain so those people cannot be in the market to buy - they are left to the mercies of private landlords. Council homes are a way of housing these people - with a degree of subsidisation - in decent homes. The existence of a good supply of council housing can also help put a brake on excessive private rents. The people could then be given a discount of the market price (perhaps x% per year that they paid rent) if and when they are able to buy. That "buy" option will always help motivate them to look after the property if such motivation is deemed necessary

 

The government has already started to produce several schemes for the young to get on the housing ladder including part purchase /part rent. There will always be a need for some council owned properties for key workers etc but I prefer the government to encourage home ownership as the norm. Some parts of the vast council estates built in the 60's and 70's are dreadful places to live. As I mentioned earlier the self build options, similar to those in France, on some of our government owned brownfield sites would be a great way forward. I have lived on a couple of lotissements in France where self builders completed their projects as and when finances allowed. The key is for the serviced land to be supplied at a reduction on market value with safeguards to avoid any speculation. They could use a similar clause as effectively implemented on the sale of council houses, a surcharge if sold within 5 years.

 

Dont disagree with any of your responses above Leo....

I guess i would prefer a Housing Assoc versus Council option... and yes pay rent as you purchase at a rate you can afford etc etc