Government to DOUBLE right to buy discount to help more people onto the ladder

Turnbull2000

In today's Times.

The average £26,000 discount for a council home would jump to about £52,000. But tenants in London and the South East would save larger sums under the scheme, initiated in 1980 by Margaret Thatcher.

The current right-to-buy scheme has a cap of £38,000 but this is expected to rise to £76,000 in areas with the highest house prices. The average price for a London council home was £162,630 last year. Councils will have discretion over the discounts but must spend the money raised on new social housing.

What an amazing windfall for council housing occupants. But if they replace this stock with new housing (which they won't IMO), I'll eat my hat!

So in the space of a week we've had underwriting of cheap, high LTV mortgages, allowing access to pension pots, and now massive housing discounts for council tenants. Not forgetting their determination to push large scale shared-ownership. Just to think, people actually believed the Tories would be better than Labour!

chewmylegoff

Turnbull2000 wrote: »

So in the space of a week we've had talk of underwriting of cheap, high LTV mortgages, allowing access to pension pots, and now massive housing discounts for council tenants. Not forgetting their determination to push large scale shared-ownership.

you missed out some words. it's not like any of these things have actually been implemented, is it.

Graham_Devon

Again, this has already been discussed.

It's not within the space of a week. You appear to merely be catching up!

SingleSue

I live in social housing but do not have right to buy...why? Because the housing stock was sold to a housing association many years ago and only those who were originally council tenants qualify for RTB.

Not that I would want to buy this house anyway..you cannot get a mortgage on it due to non standard construction.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

I have frequently posted that this government will have no choice but to re-invigorate the housing market soon if they want to win another term, and to expect policies to change accordingly.

It is essential to an economic recovery, and their chances of getting re-elected.

Nobody should be surprised now that they're doing exactly what it was obvious they'd have to do.

EllaBeagle

SingleSue wrote: »

I live in social housing but do not have right to buy...why? Because the housing stock was sold to a housing association many years ago and only those who were originally council tenants qualify for RTB.

Not that I would want to buy this house anyway..you cannot get a mortgage on it due to non standard construction.

Isn't there right to aquire on Housing Association houses?

SingleSue

Not with our housing association no, it is written into the contract that you do not have right to buy.

k66yla

I'd love to buy my flat but can't get a mortgage. Then again would I want to be tied into the property with the Clampetts living above me!

crash123

Thatcher got it wrong with right to buy and then Labour continued with the wrong policies, hence the situation we are now in.
I don`t blame people taking advantage of these schemes as my parents and grand parents did back in the 80`s but we were against it even though we gained from it.

gailey_2

I dont have the stats but based on where we live think

theres not many council houses anymore

most were sold to ha

lot of ha in southwest.

but im from wales

and same sort of pattern there.

wonder how many people it would help?

depends on %percentage of council housing left in uk

what criteria is for buying

can they get a morgage to buy as lets say house is valued at £130,000 they get 50%off its still 65k?
hardly pocket money ,would they have that much in savings and investments?
after all they must meet some deprived social criteria to be a council tennant in 1st place?
if they dont which I suspect they wouldent they go to bank and ask to borrow.
but they either low income or unemployed? would they get approved for morgage?

Think its just a soundbite .now we out of erea of easy credit buyings a lot harder than it was when maggie introduced it,

gailey_2

Approximately 40% of the country’s social housing stock is owned by local authorities, 15% is managed by arm's length management organisations, and 45% by housing associations.[1] In Scotland, council estates are known as schemes.

got this from wikipedia. so 40% council left within whole of uk!