Council houses for fixed terms only!

Wee_Willy_Harris

mumoftwins wrote: »

Totally agree, and also agree that those who can afford to buy but are living in HA or council properties should be means tested.

But as you have already highlighted, the rent, if affordable, isn't the issue for you. It's the security you most treasure. So, even if rents were higher, people would still stay. In the current market, it could be argued that lower rents allow those who can afford to buy to save a deposit quicker and, therefore, buy sooner, which will INCREASE the number of available social landlord properties for you.

Wee_Willy_Harris

ILW wrote: »

If the person that can afford to buy does, they then have the security of ownership (as long as they kep up the payments)

Indeed. And the lower their current houisng costs, the quicker they can save that deposit they need, and the sooner they will free up their tenancy.

lidlest

ILW wrote: »

If the government should subsidise the purchase of council houses by tenants, in all fairness should they not also subsidise everyone else as well. Why should a council tenant be in effect given free money to help towards buying a house?

Well it would be impossible for them to do that obviously. My main point which you ignored was that the council could build 3 houses for the price I paid for mine. It's not that huge a discount, some people seem to be under the impression that people are getting houses for absolutely nothing.

Wee_Willy_Harris

ILW wrote: »

True, but you need to start somewhere and this is at least an area where the autorities have a high level of control. And to be fair, this thread was about lifetime HA tenancies. Taking on the open market is another matter.

Not at all. The open market has driven demand for social housing. High rents, low security, house prices out of reach, all increase demand for social housing. Tinkering about with what is, for most social tenants, just a theoretical right (tenancy for life) will do nothing to address the deep seated issues within the housing market as a whole.

Wee_Willy_Harris

lidlest wrote: »

Well it would be impossible for them to do that obviously. My main point which you ignored was that the council could build 3 houses for the price I paid for mine. It's not that huge a discount, some people seem to be under the impression that people are getting houses for absolutely nothing.

Indeed. Many still think that a social tenant can use RTB to get a house for the price of a second hand car. The discounts of old are simply no longer available......

There is a limit to how much money you can get off the value of your property through Right to Buy. The maximum discounts available by region are:

• £16,000 in Wales
• £16,000 in London (unless your home is in Barking and Dagenham or Havering, where the maximum discount is £38,000)
• £22,000 in the North East of England
• £24,000 in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber
• £26,000 in the North West of England and the West Midlands
• £30,000 in the South West of England
• £34,000 in the East of England (unless your home is in Watford, where the maximum discount is £16,000)

In the South East of England, the maximum discount is £38,000, unless your home is in one of areas listed below. In these areas the maximum discount is £16,000:

• Chiltern
• Epsom and Ewell
• Hart
• Oxford
• Reading
• Reigate and Banstead
• Tonbridge and Malling
• Vale of the White Horse
• West Berkshire

poppysarah

FOURCANDLES wrote: »

BAN ambition mmmmm coalition wouldn't like that.

The whole system seems to punish people who save and try hard.

ILW

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Indeed. Many still think that a social tenant can use RTB to get a house for the price of a second hand car. The discounts of old are simply no longer available......


There is a limit to how much money you can get off the value of your property through Right to Buy. The maximum discounts available by region are:

• £16,000 in Wales
• £16,000 in London (unless your home is in Barking and Dagenham or Havering, where the maximum discount is £38,000)
• £22,000 in the North East of England
• £24,000 in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber
• £26,000 in the North West of England and the West Midlands
• £30,000 in the South West of England
• £34,000 in the East of England (unless your home is in Watford, where the maximum discount is £16,000)

In the South East of England, the maximum discount is £38,000, unless your home is in one of areas listed below. In these areas the maximum discount is £16,000:

• Chiltern
• Epsom and Ewell
• Hart
• Oxford
• Reading
• Reigate and Banstead
• Tonbridge and Malling
• Vale of the White Horse
• West Berkshire

So you get a discounted rent for years, and then bunged 20 or 30 grand when you want to buy. Very nice if you are one of the lucky ones offered such largesse at taxpayer expense.

Wee_Willy_Harris

ILW wrote: »

So you get a discounted rent for years, and then bunged 20 or 30 grand when you want to buy. Very nice if you are one of the lucky ones offered such largesse at taxpayer expense.

On RTB at least, we are agreed. But it was a Thatcher idea, so it was always going toi be a bad one.

FOURCANDLES_2

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

And many HA tenants enjoy their "right to aquire", which is essentially RTB under a slightly different guise.

Mine is not a new development but 1 of 4 in a rural area built in 1909 ish hence the size of property and garden etc if I had been in it prior to the HA taking over I would have had the right to buy as I came in 12 months after the HA took over all the stock I was refused. However I have been told I could transfer to a new development for shared ownership which is not for me .

FOURCANDLES_2

ILW wrote: »

So you get a discounted rent for years, and then bunged 20 or 30 grand when you want to buy. Very nice if you are one of the lucky ones offered such largesse at taxpayer expense.

That is it though LUCKY as were those who bought private before the property boom it all depends on luck