Housing becomes a complex challenge

The housing crisis in Britain is a massively complex challenge for the government who quite honestly appear to be finding it difficult to cope with, none of the proposals put forward so far offer any hope of improvement in the near future.

Government plans to extend  the right-to-buy to housing association tenants is hitting an avalanche of resistance from various groups who expect such proposal to make matters worse rather than improve them, they could be right.

Governments over the last 30 years have promised to increase home ownership rates, not the case, they have been falling for a decade, housing policies just do not acheive their desired outcomes, private renting has now  increased to almost one in five households.

Almost 40% per cent of council homes sold via “right to buy” are now being let by private landlords, that is according to Inside Housing magazine’s research published last week. A total of 127,762 homes were sold to tenants at huge discounts, 38% of that total show  the owners registered at other adresses, suggesting they are landlords.

This is all far from creating a home owning society, these are the  consequences of badly thought out government policy at the time, it is infact creating an unfair society as far as housing is concerned, individuals are making vast profits from their right-to-buy investments, is that what was intended?  A council flat bought under the scheme in London’s Covent Garden has recently sold for £1.2 million; the sellers had paid Westminster council £130,000 in 1990. Is nothing being learnt from the policy  mistakes of the past?

Eileen Short of Defend Council Housing reportedly said: “This is what happens if you try to turn all our housing into a marketplace. The richest people buy up the most and make a killing, these landlords are charging  rents so high that many need housing benefit to pay for them in another back-door subsidy to these landlords.

 

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 28/03/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   tlyfe the tenant App gets huge marketing boost from national team tour from the Openbrix team As many will know tlyfe, powered by OpenBrix, is the UK’s most innovative tenant lifecycle app, taking the stress out of the move in process and helping to…
Read More
Breaking News

Over Four Out Of Five Tenants Unaware Of The Renters Reform Bill

OVER four out of five tenants remain unaware of the Renters (Reform) Bill and its contents, according to new research. The data comes from a representative survey of over 2,000 private renters conducted by the TDS Charitable Foundation, which works to advance education about housing rights and obligations in the private rented sector. The Bill…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

What is Property Damage in a Personal Injury Case?

Property damage refers to any damage that affects things instead of a person. This might include damage to your car, house, etc. As such, it is not regarded as a personal injury case. However, when an individual is injured when the accident occurs, the affected person can file a personal injury claim. A typical example…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove comment on new 99% first-time buyer mortgage product

Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert said: “It’s encouraging to see lenders continuing to try to innovate in the mortgage market, even after the government abandoned its own plans to encourage lower deposit mortgages in the Spring Budget. This new product has the potential to help some first-time buyers who fit the affordability criteria, but are struggling…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 27/03/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Coadjute ahead of the game as they are already licensed to provide digital TA6 Forms to property stakeholders This week, the Law Society announced its TA6 Form will now include Material Information as per the the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 26/03/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Sharing Success: The Guild Conference and Awards celebrate Member achievements The QEII Centre in Westminster, London, was abuzz with excitement on Friday, 22 March 2024, as The Guild of Property Professionals hosted its highly anticipated annual Guild Conference and Awards. Under the theme ‘Sharing…
Read More