What happens when all the 'council' houses have run out?

blue_monkey_2

This is a genuine question really - is this the right place to ask, down to seeing a piece on the news about the 'unsafe' mortgages at the moment. I know a few people who have mentioned being in trouble with their mortgages at the moment and a couple who their jobs are on the line as well.

So this is a genuine question.

What happens to people when the houses have run out. What happens to people when there is 'nowhere' left to go to if they get evicted and the council have nowhere to put them and they can't secure private lets due having a bad credit record?

If the council are paying the rent for people in private accomodation surely they are just paying off someone elses mortgage and interest, so they (the council) might as well buy the property for themselves and then when it is paid for in 25 years the property then falls back in the hands of the council. That to me makes more sense, surely?

Maybe if people get into trouble with their mortgages the council could be offered it at the value left remaining on the mortgage, the people can stay in the property but the house then goes into the name of the council afterwards.

I know people will say that this falls down to money but they must have the money to pay out Housing Benefit.

I don't know, anyone else got any other suggestions?? it was a genuine question that I was pondering over the last few days and there was a thread yesterday that posed the same kind of question, i was not looking for a huge political arguement or anything, I was just curious. Just where will people go once the housing has 'run out'? The next generation for example.

dmg24

They can pay HB to people to let privately (not all private lets rely on credit checks).

People will be moved into B&B's.

The money that LA's have to pay HB, would not cover the purchase of the respective properties. Unless the LA takes out a mortgage?!!

Edit: You're going to need to shorten your sig if you edit it after Friday ... do it quick! x

emmy05

i know exactly what youre saying, there arnt half as many council properties as there used to be. nowadays you got to consider yourself very lucky to even get a house, let alone a flat.
i even wonder if we might have something like a council pretty soon with the amount of houses that they are rapidly selling off.....

emmy05

Edit: You're going to need to shorten your sig if you edit it after Friday ... do it quick! x

why is that? whats happening?

blue_monkey_2

dmg24 wrote: »

They can pay HB to people to let privately (not all private lets rely on credit checks).

People will be moved into B&B's.

The money that LA's have to pay HB, would not cover the purchase of the respective properties. Unless the LA takes out a mortgage?!!

Edit: You're going to need to shorten your sig if you edit it after Friday ... do it quick! x

Hi DMG,

Hmm, that is what I thought about the mortage side and the council taking that on and getting the house 'at the end' but if the mortgages are done via the goverment then they could give a lower rate of interest, etc... the bank loses because otherwise it's a vicious circle for the goverment surely? I admit I know nothing about this, I was just pondering.

PS. I did shorten it already - is it still too long?? LL, I'll take a look later tonight, got to get DS from school.

tanith

It may seem that there is a shortage of Council Housing but in the 'olden days' of the 1950's my parents were on the housing waiting list for 21yrs before being offered a teeny tiny house... They had 5 small children when they applied living in a 2 bed top floor flat privately rented and by the time they were offered a council property 3 of them had left home... things weren't so different .....

Debt_Free_Chick

Far easier for the council to pay rent to private landlords. If the council owns the property they also get all the cost and hassle of property maintenance. And all the cost and hassle of "managing" tenants.

And if the housing is bought for council tenants, then it's a "dead" asset. They might own the property, but to get at the money, they need to sell it.

Also need to consider that raising the capital to buy is an expense to be met by council tax payers - indeed, as are all the maintenance and other associated costs.

Councils can already borrow at favourable rates via the Public Works Loan Board

impy78

This worries me too.

I totally disagree with being able to purchase a council house - it defies the whole point of their being council houses.

Debt_Free_Chick

impy78 wrote: »

This worries me too.

I totally disagree with being able to purchase a council house - it defies the whole point of their being council houses.

Does it really matter though? Provided the Council can house those who need it, does it matter if the Landlord is the Council, or private?

sm9ai

I wouldn't be surprised if councils brought lots of new build flats.

There is hardly a shortage of them and a lot are empty.

emmy05

as it stands the council do get alot of houses from new builds, due to building being done on council land anyway, this way they are freeing up and moving more ppl off the list, but not fast enough though