The Absurdity of Right to Buy

ruggedtoast

This has long been a bugbear of mine. Lets hope that it is now going to get on the mainstream radar.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article6974622.ece

We’re picking up the bill for right-to-buy

It’s folly that taxpayers pay for poor families to live in luxury homes. We need more social housing

The new system is fundamentally unfair to the taxpayer. The 1.2 million housing benefit claimants who live in privately rented accommodation receive a payment based on the median rent for an appropriate property in the area. Why are the lowest-income groups — nationally, 15 per cent of families receive some sort of housing benefits — paid to live in average properties, when surely they should be living in the cheapest homes?

Tenants who pay their own way in the rental market are paying for this folly twice: once through their taxes and again through the extra money that they must pay to outbid benefit claimants for a property. And by being over-generous, the housing benefit system is creating a welfare trap. A family living in an average- priced rental property knows that if their income rises so that they are no longer eligible for housing benefit, they are likely to have to move to a cheaper home. So why work harder?

Mr_Mumble

But, what has this got to do with right to buy?

If a council such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge built a load of subsidised/socialist/social housing, no matter how poor the quality, this housing would still be worth far more than private property in most of the country. The locale is the problem here, not the housing stock.

CLAPTON

certainly the current method of allocating housing to poorer people is absurd ... so it needs changing ..that's all

ruggedtoast

Mr_Mumble wrote: »

But, what has this got to do with right to buy?

If a council such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge built a load of subsidised/socialist/social housing, no matter how poor the quality, this housing would still be worth far more than private property in most of the country. The locale is the problem here, not the housing stock.

Because the council loses the stock of houses and then has to pay market rents to private landlords.

2010

Let`s not forget it was M.Thatcher and the Tories that brought in R2B as a gimmick to win the election and it worked.

Having said that,we`ve had 12 years of N Labour with a clown like Prescot in charge of housing and they haven`t bothered doing anything either.

mbga9pgf

2010 wrote: »

Let`s not forget it was M.Thatcher and the Tories that brought in R2B as a gimmick to win the election and it worked.

Having said that,we`ve had 12 years of N Labour with a clown like Prescot in charge of housing and they haven`t bothered doing anything either.

Oh yes he did. He set mimimum property population per acre requirements. Thats right. Prescotts legacy is the rediculous shoe-box sized property we are left with from the last 10 years of building.


They also reduced the total numbers of property being built and threw in a raft of stealth tax measures under the label of building regs and planning applications.

purch

The legacy of ex-Dame Shirley Porter.

Did she ever repay Westminster Council the £30 odd million she owed after the 'Homes for Votes' milarky ?

That would help build a load of social housing !!!!

Bootski

purch wrote: »

The legacy of ex-Dame Shirley Porter.

Did she ever repay Westminster Council the £30 odd million she owed after the 'Homes for Votes' milarky ?

That would help build a load of social housing !!!!

As far as I'm aware she !!!!!!ed off to live a life of luxury in Isreal, and no - has not paid her fines.

I'd be interested to find out though as that was the reason my Late Mum refused to buy at Tesco's, although it was cheaper. (Dame S Porter, had shares or married Mr Tesco - something like that?)

The_White_Horse

shirley porter was the daughter of the founder of tesco (possibly greanddaughter - can't remember).

the problem is, there should be no social housing in kebnsington and chelsea. why should people who could never afford to live in these areas have homes where decent hard working people can't live.

all London and surrounding areas social housing should be sold off, and redeveloped with private housing. the govt can then create sprawling estates somewhere up north in the middle of nowhere to house people.

BitterAndTwisted

Dame Shirley (nee Cohen) is the daughter of the founder of the company.

White Horse your monomania is becoming tiresome

chucky

The_White_Horse wrote: »

the problem is, there should be no social housing in kebnsington and chelsea. why should people who could never afford to live in these areas have homes where decent hard working people can't live.

all London and surrounding areas social housing should be sold off, and redeveloped with private housing. the govt can then create sprawling estates somewhere up north in the middle of nowhere to house people.

you haven't got a clue - but at least you're posts are funny