Affordable homes to buy/rent

[Hope]

If the reports about Mr Cameron's speech to the Tory party conference are anything to go by, he plans to say that the government plan to change Englih planning laws so that the existing requirement for developers to built a proportion of 'affordable' houses for rent within any development will be changed to a proportion of affordable houses to buy - and to transform 'generation rent' into 'generation buy' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34460822

What are folks' opinions?  I know that - like me, some of us live in devolved areas of the UK, but I believe that we can and ought to still have opinions on what happens in England.

I have just written to DC (his official email account didn't want to accept my message so I'm sending it by snail mail) asking him to reconsider this and to have a requirement for both affordable rental and purchase properties in any development, and fewer top-end executive-type properties in a development.

[Aruntraveller]

I thought we'd had the equivalent of generation buy under Mrs Thatcher. That worked well for affordable housing

[Jack Knave]

All I can say is that Cameron is talking bollocks. This will not solve the housing problem and will only pump up its bubble. It's a short term policy that will suit the banks and elites, who have loads of spare cash, to make even more, thereby pushing prices up further. Why should the tax payer subsidies other people to buy houses at 20% below cost?

[JP]

Homes were affordable until the last Labour lot were in government.

[Harrowby Hall]

Why are we so insistent that people buy their own houses? At a time when a flexible workforce is needed it impedes mobility of labour.

In Germany, house purchase is characteristically only done at a fairly late time in people's working lives.

[jakswan]

I think the record on building houses in appalling from all governments over the last few decades. Its an uncomfortable fact that if supply manages to outstrip supply then house prices will crash. 

[Outrider]

Why are we so insistent that people buy their own houses? At a time when a flexible workforce is needed it impedes mobility of labour.

In Germany, house purchase is characteristically only done at a fairly late time in people's working lives.

From the government's point of view, making people buy their own home means that the taxpayer is no longer either being or paying for a landlord with responsibility for the upkeep.

Cameron's definition of 'affordable housing' (upwards of £400K in London, if I read it correctly) is nonsense to start with. Ultimately, it still won't fix the issue, which is that there are just not enough houses being built - it doesn't suit the builders to flood the market, scarcity drives up their selling price without affecting their costs.

The government needs to increase the number of houses being built, not the proportions of the too small number that are alloted (badly) to particular target groups.

O.

[Rhiannon]

Our LA stands to lose half of its social housing stock due to the proposed changes (I still can't figure out why). Even local almshouses are going to be lost under Right to Buy.

We are governed by wankers.

[JP]

Not is there just a shortage of housing but it is the size at which they are being built. Britain - lets go backwards together.

In 1920, the average semi-detached new-build had four bedrooms and measured 1,647 sq ft, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Today's equivalent has three bedrooms and is 925 sq ft. Typical new terrace houses have shrunk from 1,020 sq ft and three bedrooms, to 645 sq ft and two bedrooms.

Other studies have suggested England has some of the smallest housing in Europe, and that shrinking space is limiting people's routine activities at home, including socialising, home study or work and storing personal belongings.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/aug/20/minister-rabbit-hutch-homes

Never mind the rooms in the house, you also get a garage you can put the car in but better get yourself a hatchback as you will not be able to open the car doors to get out.

[Rhiannon]

New builds will nearly always have at least one en-suite bathroom. There seems to be this throw-back to the 80s that the more toilets you have the posher you are.

[Jack Knave]

I'm with JP on this in as much as affordable housing now seems to mean incredibly small and pokey.

Even the roads are getting pokey with cars everywhere and I am starting to dread dropping my son off on some of the newer estates.

They look nicer now they don't make them all look the same outside, but the designers seem to forget you need a cupboard to store things like the ironing board and the Hoover.

As show houses they look nice, but I would hate to have to live in one.

Most don't even have room for furniture in the bedroom 

Next stop are those pokey capsuals hotel type rooms 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel

I've just read a news report the other day where someone was paying hundreds of pounds to stay under someone's stairs , like Harry Potter.

 

This one is worse than the one I read about........ £900......... a month for this?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/renting/11901339/London-flatshares-offer-Harry-Potter-style-rooms-under-the-stairs-for-up-to-900-a-month.html

 

Madness!

It's just one more step to our serfdom!!!