There was a "Right To Buy" on Council houses in my area (Cambridge) long before the 1980s. Before 1980, it was down to the local authorities to decide. Thatcher made it a right for all.
Well then in the final analysis I figured out that during the full term of the 35 years that I have been paying my mortgages I have actually been living rent free
That is because my housing costs have been progressively reducing due to inflation whilst my spending power was progressively increasing during the full term of my mortgages.
This enabled my family to live the good life just the same as millions of other folk.
What a strange view. You have been paying back your mortgage plus interest on that (and paying out on repairs plus home improvements). That still equals money being spent by you even if none of the payments have been the form of rent.
But social housing should never be for 'life'...ideally it's there as a stop gap until you improve yourself.
Everyone wants to improve themselves surely? You work...you earn...you have a home...you don't depend on the state for longer than absolutely necessary
Nonsense. You are contributing to public income if you live in a council home (in rental payments). If you live in your own home, your housing expenses only benefit yourself and banks.
If your lucky! Some HA's are bloody awful and they get away with it. At least when housing is the responsibilty of the state there is some accountability there.
You would like to think so i once lived in a council house with rotten window frames and wooden door frame all the council did was patch it up,as they said they did not have the cash to replace.
On the other hand the Housing Association home i am in now is much better maintained in the last 10 years they have double glazed the entire block, put in new kitchens and bathrooms,and central heating which was brand new when i moved in 2004 and they are accountable.:)
the council house i bought and sold was made of cardboard. and glass.an internal wall was made of glass. this glass could take an eye out if it got smashed. it could kill. i once threw a metal dish at my ex husband and it went straight through the glass front door. this house was built in the late 60's. a nasty place to be. the only way out was to buy it, sell it and move on to a better life. i did that ,thanks to mrs thatcher.
Most council homes are well_built. Especially the older ones.
But social housing should never be for 'life'...ideally it's there as a stop gap until you improve yourself.
Everyone wants to improve themselves surely? You work...you earn...you have a home...you don't depend on the state for longer than absolutely necessary
Thats a bit condescending i do not need any improvement thanks.;-)
No, but I have lived in a council flat, then a HA house and was very grateful that I could, they saved my life. I contemplated buying my property when offered, but decided to move area and buy privately, it was a worry, but I decided, in the end, that I wasn't in agreement with the buying of social housing, personally.
I worry desperately for my grown up kids who have to pay extortionate rents they have no chance of affording a mortgage, which isn't all that either. We've worked hard to pay off the mortgage and it's done now, but or a while we were only paying the interest on the mortgage and thought we were going to have to sell. Rents are unbelievable, they certainly rip a huge whole in the wage packet, if you can afford the deposit initially which is difficult.
I do understand why some people would buy their council property, but ultimately it is 'social housing,' so should go to people who need it.
I also had the worry in the back of my mind that when Government changes,ie-if the Tories ever got back in, after living through them before, that they would be very harsh and contemptuous to anyone needing help, often through no fault of their own-and here we are.
I am currently on the 'Home Options' list for a flat in the Norwich area. I am in a 'Low Need' banding ( below Bronze, Silver and Gold). For one of the flats I have applied for, I am 152nd in the queue for consideration. :eek: Admittedly it is in a popular suburb.
I am 70th in the queuefor consideration for a 1 bedroom flat in a less good area.
This is how mad and under pressure affordable rented housing is, especially in my area.
And Norwich has a high proportion of social housing - and the council still owns it.
Much worse in a lot of other places.
I was classed as low need and got my own council flat after being on the list for about 5 years. This was back in 2010
It isn't always greedy landlords. They have maintenance and property management costs and extra insurance to pay, as well as the mortgage on the property.
Which just demonstrates that the cost of housing is too high. This has been caused in part by the right to buy.
You would like to think so i once lived in a council house with rotten window frames and wooden door frame all the council did was patch it up,as they said they did not have the cash to replace.
On the other hand the Housing Association home i am in now is much better maintained in the last 10 years they have double glazed the entire block, put in new kitchens and bathrooms,and central heating which was brand new when i moved in 2004 and they are accountable.:)
That is probably down to the Decent Homes legislation. Councils and housing associations have had to improve their homes.
Of course it was a Thatcher electoral bribe. It was always understood that Council houses were intended for the lower paid who were unable to afford to buy their own house. It was most generous of Thatcher to sell them off at well below market prices considering they were provided by public funds. Many who soon after buying would then sell at a considerable profit. To add to this warped policy the funds raised were not allowed to be used to rebuild more council housing, although on reflection this was just as well since they too would then also run the same risk of being sold at cut price. I only knew one man personally who purchased his council home, being of the 'Why work when I can live entirely on benefits' type, who at the first opportunity he sold at a good profit then emigrated to Australia where with the proceeds he was able to buy property after property of the mansion with swimming pool and acres of land variety.
And Norwich has a high proportion of social housing - and the council still owns it.
Much worse in a lot of other places.
I was classed as low need and got my own council flat after being on the list for about 5 years. This was back in 2010
True enough. There was a vote to transfer the council homes to a housing assoc in the mid/late 2000s but more tenants and leaseholders voted to keep the homes council owned. I think around 18k of the 26k are still council owned. Good news is that new council homes are being built...although 250 new homes between 2014 - 2019 is barely scratching the surface.
Since my last post I left the housing register over a year ago as I became discouraged about ther chance of the offer of a flat. There are quite a lot of single homeless people in Norwich and the flats would surely go to these people before me.
I continue to rent privately, paying around 50% of my net income towards it. Makes it harder to save up for a deposit to buy on the open market. >:( Add the paltry interest rates on savings/ISAs into the equation and it's tougher.
With RTB of Housing Assoc properties on the cards (if legal!), surely us private tenants should get RTB. Most of us need it more than council/HA tenants!
I don't have a family and if I did council housing would have been available for them too if people hadn't brought them for reduced price and the money not used to build more council housing.
You are just as vulnerable as someone in council housing.
You intend living in your Council home for life, so your house won't be available for anyone else, someone bought their council house and their house won't become available either, so what's the difference.?
You intend living in your Council home for life, so your house won't be available for anyone else, someone bought their council house and their house won't become available either, so what's the difference.?
The differance is very simple, one is gone for ever from the affordable rental market, the other is still there. ready for the next tenant who neads it. ( Council spends £500,000 renting homes sold through the right to buy
Council spends £500,000 renting homes sold through right to buy
A London borough has branded the right to buy ‘utterly ludicrous’ after new research revealed it is spending almost £500,000 every year renting back properties it was forced to sell.
Rent buy
Harrow Council is renting back
Harrow Council is leasing 35 former council homes to provide temporary accommodation to vulnerable tenants, paying up to £350 a week in some cases.
Right to buy, which allows council tenants to buy their homes at a discount, can see social homes sold at up to £100,000 less than their value in London.
Glen Hearnden, portfolio holder for housing at Harrow Council, said: ‘It is an expensive irony that the much-lauded right to buy has ended up as a financial straight jacket for Harrow residents. It really does not make sense to pay huge amounts of money to private landlords for houses we used to own.
‘We lose twice with the government scheme, we lose the property from our stock and then we pay to rent it back. It all adds up to our residents suffering. It feels like we are fighting the fires caused by an overheating housing market whilst the government is stood on our hose pipe.’
Harrow Council last month approved plans to build 430 new properties through the regeneration of the 240-home Grange Farm estate, as well as using vacant spaces on existing estates to add more homes.
It will use £8.5m from its housing revenue account to fund the work, along with government grant.
Earlier this month, the government announced it will increase the right to buy discount annually with the Consumer Price Index. Tenants outside of London can recceive up to £77,000 off the value of their home and tenants in the capital can receive up to £102,700 discount. )
I/we bought our first home on the open market, I borrowed the money with the help of a guarantor, a builder I was working for at the time.
I totally and utterly disagree with Maggies Giveaway of our property. I know of lots of people who bought their parents council homes and then made a killing when they sold them Later.
The situation may have had some merit if the properties had to be sold back to the council when the discounted purchaser sold or died.
What a strange view. You have been paying back your mortgage plus interest on that (and paying out on repairs plus home improvements). That still equals money being spent by you even if none of the payments have been the form of rent.
It's fact. The hyper inflation in house prices mean that for many if not most in the SE. If you work out how much you have paid in housing then it works out considerably less than equity. In other words you can sell up and walk away with a profit having paid nothing in housing over that term.
You intend living in your Council home for life, so your house won't be available for anyone else...
Are they immortal?
Clearly their house is available for council housing for the next generation and at less cost as it is fully paid off and the council can make a profit from renting it.
How the government justify paying massive public subsidies to those who can afford a mortgage whilst simultaneously imposing cuts on the most vulnerable is sad.
There are a few issues relating to the right to buy.
As a whole, i think it was a bad policy, it reduced social housing stock for those in need, increased profits of private land lords, fueled to increase profits made by private companies (estate agents, banks/building societies), helped create the boom in property prices as tenants bought for peanuts and found that they had made tens of thousands profit overnight, then selling them on to move to better areas, selling them at inflated prices, bought up by developers or land lords. People being sold mortgages they couldn't afford at a time when high unemployment was gaining momentum and benefits would cover mortgage payments.
However, it would have been highly likely that councils would have rehomed tenants to cheaper areas to take advantage of the massive increase in real estate prices anyway without replacing the some off stock.
I know someone who bought their council house, moved in with their new fella, partitioned rooms off to increase the number of rooms. Now her and fella rent it out, but are not registered landlords. She is supposed to be the tenant in residence and it's on a residential mortgage.
That's definitely not what the scheme was for.
I know someone who bought their council house, moved in with their new fella, partitioned rooms off to increase the number of rooms. Now her and fella rent it out, but are not registered landlords. She is supposed to be the tenant in residence and it's on a residential mortgage.
That's definitely not what the scheme was for.
Comments
By building more houses to sell below value and at a loss?!?
If you work and live in a council home, you are actually adding to the income of local councils by paying your rent
What a strange view. You have been paying back your mortgage plus interest on that (and paying out on repairs plus home improvements). That still equals money being spent by you even if none of the payments have been the form of rent.
Nonsense. You are contributing to public income if you live in a council home (in rental payments). If you live in your own home, your housing expenses only benefit yourself and banks.
You would like to think so i once lived in a council house with rotten window frames and wooden door frame all the council did was patch it up,as they said they did not have the cash to replace.
On the other hand the Housing Association home i am in now is much better maintained in the last 10 years they have double glazed the entire block, put in new kitchens and bathrooms,and central heating which was brand new when i moved in 2004 and they are accountable.:)
Most council homes are well_built. Especially the older ones.
Thats a bit condescending i do not need any improvement thanks.;-)
I worry desperately for my grown up kids who have to pay extortionate rents they have no chance of affording a mortgage, which isn't all that either. We've worked hard to pay off the mortgage and it's done now, but or a while we were only paying the interest on the mortgage and thought we were going to have to sell. Rents are unbelievable, they certainly rip a huge whole in the wage packet, if you can afford the deposit initially which is difficult.
I do understand why some people would buy their council property, but ultimately it is 'social housing,' so should go to people who need it.
I also had the worry in the back of my mind that when Government changes,ie-if the Tories ever got back in, after living through them before, that they would be very harsh and contemptuous to anyone needing help, often through no fault of their own-and here we are.
And Norwich has a high proportion of social housing - and the council still owns it.
Much worse in a lot of other places.
I was classed as low need and got my own council flat after being on the list for about 5 years. This was back in 2010
Private rents are subsidised by housing benefit. The right to buy scheme has been subsidised by taxpayers.
Which just demonstrates that the cost of housing is too high. This has been caused in part by the right to buy.
And buy to let around 1/3rd of the ex council stock in my area is but to let at treble the rent.>:(>:(
That is probably down to the Decent Homes legislation. Councils and housing associations have had to improve their homes.
True enough. There was a vote to transfer the council homes to a housing assoc in the mid/late 2000s but more tenants and leaseholders voted to keep the homes council owned. I think around 18k of the 26k are still council owned. Good news is that new council homes are being built...although 250 new homes between 2014 - 2019 is barely scratching the surface.
Since my last post I left the housing register over a year ago as I became discouraged about ther chance of the offer of a flat. There are quite a lot of single homeless people in Norwich and the flats would surely go to these people before me.
I continue to rent privately, paying around 50% of my net income towards it. Makes it harder to save up for a deposit to buy on the open market. >:( Add the paltry interest rates on savings/ISAs into the equation and it's tougher.
With RTB of Housing Assoc properties on the cards (if legal!), surely us private tenants should get RTB. Most of us need it more than council/HA tenants!
You intend living in your Council home for life, so your house won't be available for anyone else, someone bought their council house and their house won't become available either, so what's the difference.?
The differance is very simple, one is gone for ever from the affordable rental market, the other is still there. ready for the next tenant who neads it. ( Council spends £500,000 renting homes sold through the right to buy
Council spends £500,000 renting homes sold through right to buy
A London borough has branded the right to buy ‘utterly ludicrous’ after new research revealed it is spending almost £500,000 every year renting back properties it was forced to sell.
Rent buy
Harrow Council is renting back
Harrow Council is leasing 35 former council homes to provide temporary accommodation to vulnerable tenants, paying up to £350 a week in some cases.
Right to buy, which allows council tenants to buy their homes at a discount, can see social homes sold at up to £100,000 less than their value in London.
Glen Hearnden, portfolio holder for housing at Harrow Council, said: ‘It is an expensive irony that the much-lauded right to buy has ended up as a financial straight jacket for Harrow residents. It really does not make sense to pay huge amounts of money to private landlords for houses we used to own.
‘We lose twice with the government scheme, we lose the property from our stock and then we pay to rent it back. It all adds up to our residents suffering. It feels like we are fighting the fires caused by an overheating housing market whilst the government is stood on our hose pipe.’
Harrow Council last month approved plans to build 430 new properties through the regeneration of the 240-home Grange Farm estate, as well as using vacant spaces on existing estates to add more homes.
It will use £8.5m from its housing revenue account to fund the work, along with government grant.
Earlier this month, the government announced it will increase the right to buy discount annually with the Consumer Price Index. Tenants outside of London can recceive up to £77,000 off the value of their home and tenants in the capital can receive up to £102,700 discount. )
I totally and utterly disagree with Maggies Giveaway of our property. I know of lots of people who bought their parents council homes and then made a killing when they sold them Later.
The situation may have had some merit if the properties had to be sold back to the council when the discounted purchaser sold or died.
It's fact. The hyper inflation in house prices mean that for many if not most in the SE. If you work out how much you have paid in housing then it works out considerably less than equity. In other words you can sell up and walk away with a profit having paid nothing in housing over that term.
Are they immortal?
Clearly their house is available for council housing for the next generation and at less cost as it is fully paid off and the council can make a profit from renting it.
How the government justify paying massive public subsidies to those who can afford a mortgage whilst simultaneously imposing cuts on the most vulnerable is sad.
As a whole, i think it was a bad policy, it reduced social housing stock for those in need, increased profits of private land lords, fueled to increase profits made by private companies (estate agents, banks/building societies), helped create the boom in property prices as tenants bought for peanuts and found that they had made tens of thousands profit overnight, then selling them on to move to better areas, selling them at inflated prices, bought up by developers or land lords. People being sold mortgages they couldn't afford at a time when high unemployment was gaining momentum and benefits would cover mortgage payments.
However, it would have been highly likely that councils would have rehomed tenants to cheaper areas to take advantage of the massive increase in real estate prices anyway without replacing the some off stock.
That's definitely not what the scheme was for.
A thrid of ex council housing in now in the hands of private landlords, http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-news%2Fright-to-buy-housing-shame-third-ex-council-1743338&ei=IK9uVaG8D8a1UY-Mg-AG&usg=AFQjCNH3h96A-qxAoXQ3yqTloENRQ5u8yg&bvm=bv.94911696,d.d24&cad=rja