Channel 4 tonight

Graham_Devon

The Empty Homes programme is interesting.

All seems to revolve around failed projects, lack of funding, and sometimes, even if there is available funding, red tape.

Annoyingly, someone with 2 houses who won't sell due to negative equity (though could do) is getting a helping hand via a funding scheme to do it up to rent it out. On the bright side, a much needed family is getting a home.

sjaypink

Just logged on to see if there was a thread on this... it's a bit same old, very similar programme on a year or two ago by that ginger bbc guy - the one who did the 'meaty sweety pie' programme...

I can see though how it can be too costly to regenerate empty homes, particularly in areas where most of the population are in receipt of help with the rent anyway.

Ohh it's getting interesting now, naughty boy is squatting. Uuummmmmm

& a bit of Verve soundtrack, highlight of the hour.

ukcarper

Graham_Devon wrote: »

The Empty Homes programme is interesting.

All seems to revolve around failed projects, lack of funding, and sometimes, even if there is available funding, red tape.

Annoyingly, someone with 2 houses who won't sell due to negative equity (though could do) is getting a helping hand via a funding scheme to do it up to rent it out. On the bright side, a much needed family is getting a home.

No funding scheme channel paid.

sjaypink

Happy ending. Mum & kids get nicely done up house.

Accidental LL gets cheap loan to increase his value.

.....housing benefit pays his mortgage?

Everyone's a winner

Bogof_Babe

I wouldn't place too much credence on the stats quoted. We had a letter last week asking us if we would like help renting out our flat that "is empty and has been for some time". It is actually our second home, we stay there regularly, it is not empty nor available for rental.

Because we are on the Electoral Roll elsewhere it must appear that the flat is unoccupied, although we pay 90% Council Tax on it.

I phoned the local council office that sent the letter and got a rather resigned "okay we'll mark it as not empty", so presumably they were getting many such responses.

satchmeister

Graham_Devon wrote: »

The Empty Homes programme is interesting.

All seems to revolve around failed projects, lack of funding, and sometimes, even if there is available funding, red tape.

Annoyingly, someone with 2 houses who won't sell due to negative equity (though could do) is getting a helping hand via a funding scheme to do it up to rent it out. On the bright side, a much needed family is getting a home.

May have missed it but how long is the new tenancy for?

May be a couple of years and when 'the market has recovered' the LL can give the woman and her kids an s21 and sell it for 'what it is worth' and pocket the handout used for the refurbishment. Sounds like a LL subsidy to me albeit with a happy outcome for one family for a longer term than they are used to.

chewmylegoff

I thought the RBS programme on BBC2 might be good. But no, it was a pile of lazy carp. Just interview a few "financial journalists" and say "slicing and dicing" a lot. Learnt absolutely nothing.

ukcarper

I wasn’t particularly impressed admittedly it’s a waste, but too much glossed over and figures didn’t seem right i.e. over £200k to build 4 bed house.

toby3000

Graham_Devon wrote: »

We'll see.

I don't think it is.

If it was economics that forced people to not live in that street, but live in the street just 100 yards up the road, then I will stand completely corrected.

It'll be politics.

I used to live in an area which has been 'pathfindered' and whole streets have been knocked down, and there isn't the demand in the area for housing. So yes, some people live in the area but there were (and probably still are) lots of empty flats and houses.

The houses were badly built in the first place, have terrible lay-outs and hadn't been looked after. Even if they're never rebuilt, and the land is left turfed over (as it currently is), I don't really see how it would be damaging to the area.

wotsthat

Seems the solution is simple...

We need an empty homes fund. It works like this; first you give a homeowner a cheap loan (from the taxpayer) so that they can do up their house. The taxpayer funded renovation is then rented to someone who pays rent to the homeowner. In the TV example the taxpayer, as well as paying the renovation, also pays the rent to the homeowner (the benefits claimants are just middlemen).

There's a happy ending though. The children of the benefits claimant learn that you don't need to work to get a better housing - you simply rely on the taxpayer. This might be a positive life lesson they can pass to their children too.

Mother claimant starts to cry and hugs George. Life is so much better now - she's definitely going to go back to university as a (very) mature student. She won't - why should she - she's just got her dream house and the state supports her and her three children.