The Right To Buy.

Hotchilidog · Apr 14, 2015

Anyone struggling to afford a place to live right now can just turn the clock back to the first time RTB reared its ugly head. A Thatcherite legacy that is still being felt today and now we have a generation of people who may never be able to afford a home of their own.

Typical selfish tory politics.

seagullsovergrimsby · Apr 14, 2015

Westdene Seagull said:
At the risk of being in a minority of one, Right to Buy would be a good thing if implemented properly. I know some people don't wish to own their own home but many do. Anything that allows people to do so rather than pay stupid rents has got to be a good thing. What makes the Tory policy ( and that of the 80s ) so bad is that there is no requirement to replace the sold homes. Councils and HAs should be compelled by law to replace properties using the proceeds from the sale - maybe even compelled to increase the number they hold - i.e. for every 100 sales they have to build 110.

The sums dont add up , the local authorities and HAs will be forced to sell off their most desirable and expensive stock at a sizeable discount to build new affordable housing which in future will be available on a right to buy basis. In Grimsby the council sold off one of its estates to a developer who has demolished the old houses and is on the final phase of building 400 new homes but crucially the HA only has 84 properties designated for social housing and the rest are privately owned. The HA had until today a long term view of making these 84 homes part rent/ part own allowing the householder an option to buy the 50% HA share after 25 years at the prevailing market value

Leekbrookgull · Apr 14, 2015

Are not H/A companies within their own rights ? If so surely they will challenge this?

nicko31 · Apr 14, 2015

crookie said:
This one policy might cost the Tories my vote, not that it makes any difference in Tunbridge Wells anyway. There are so many objections to this.
- Some Housing Associations are private companies, so it will be Conservative policy to force a private company to sell it's assets, against it's will at a below market rate ? Really ?
- How is it possibly fair that someone who is fortunate enough to have lived in a Housing Association property for just 3 years, gets the right to buy it at a discount ? What about the people, especially in the South East, paying full market private rents, struggling to save up enough for a deposit of their own ? We taxpayers paid for construction of , and subsidise the rents paid on these properties, the people fortunate enough to benefit from that will clean up, taking advantage of the ever-rising house prices.
- My partner works in housing, and she told me a classic example of the consequences of right to buy. One guy got the max discount on the right to buy as he had lived there for years, never worked, so never paid rent, it was all housing benefit, so it was bought for a song. The council now houses a family in there, via housing benefit, at market rent, it's near London, so v expensive. The guy who bought it on the cheap now lives abroad in Spain off the rental income the Council pays him for a property he never paid a penny for, that they used to own. You couldn't make it up. Sure there are plenty of similar stories, and there will be many more now.
Economics of the madhouse.

Top post!!

janee · Apr 14, 2015

Titanic said:
Surely it doesn't change the shortage one way or the other. There are the same number of houses and the same number of people wanting them. Just different ownership. And just possibly some extra money available to meet the target of building 400,000 new houses in 5 years?

The policy guarantees discounts of 30-50%. Paid for by selling large local authority houses as they become empty. So 2 homes are lost to social housing to give one lot of adequately and securely housed people a giant windfall. With the same money you could build a million new homes.

I work in housing and this is a poor policy

janee · Apr 14, 2015

Leekbrookgull said:
Are not H/A companies within their own rights ? If so surely they will challenge this?

Have just announced that they will

janee · Apr 14, 2015

Bozza said:
Miliband has come out in favour of RTB today. It's good to have cross-party support for these innovative ideas.

None of the electable parties have any good housing policies

Uncle C · Apr 14, 2015

Wonderful plan.

HA's sell of their best houses cheap to tenants - taxpayers who fund the councils lose out.

Tenant cashes in as soon as possible and gets rich at tax payers expense.

Private landlord buys the property using Government assisted schemes - taxpayer pays.

Landlord whacks up the rent to private landlord rates and waits to house the next tenant who can afford it using any of the assisted rent schemes - taxpayer pays again.

We have been suffering the effects of a lack of Council Houses since Maggie sold many of them off

I have voted Tory all my life, but this may be the final straw.

Ernest · Apr 14, 2015

This policy is already falling apart before the ink on the manifesto is dry, typical Tory shambles

Notters · Apr 14, 2015

Come on then smirko, let's hear your opinions as well as seeing your thumbs?

Herr Tubthumper · Apr 14, 2015

Why should the tax payer help people buy a house with such generous discounts?

Herr Tubthumper · Apr 14, 2015

crookie said:
This one policy might cost the Tories my vote, not that it makes any difference in Tunbridge Wells anyway. There are so many objections to this.
- Some Housing Associations are private companies, so it will be Conservative policy to force a private company to sell it's assets, against it's will at a below market rate ? Really ?
- How is it possibly fair that someone who is fortunate enough to have lived in a Housing Association property for just 3 years, gets the right to buy it at a discount ? What about the people, especially in the South East, paying full market private rents, struggling to save up enough for a deposit of their own ? We taxpayers paid for construction of , and subsidise the rents paid on these properties, the people fortunate enough to benefit from that will clean up, taking advantage of the ever-rising house prices.
- My partner works in housing, and she told me a classic example of the consequences of right to buy. One guy got the max discount on the right to buy as he had lived there for years, never worked, so never paid rent, it was all housing benefit, so it was bought for a song. The council now houses a family in there, via housing benefit, at market rent, it's near London, so v expensive. The guy who bought it on the cheap now lives abroad in Spain off the rental income the Council pays him for a property he never paid a penny for, that they used to own. You couldn't make it up. Sure there are plenty of similar stories, and there will be many more now.
Economics of the madhouse.

Good post.

As an aside, this single policy will dominate the next few weeks and cost Cameron a lot of votes.

Machiavelli · Apr 14, 2015

Bozza said:
Miliband has come out in favour of RTB today. It's good to have cross-party support for these innovative ideas.

Thanks for this [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION]. No doubt you'll be able to provide a source for this claim. Or is this something else you're going to keep to yourself?

Ernest · Apr 14, 2015

Machiavelli said:
Thanks for this [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION]. No doubt you'll be able to provide a source for this claim. Or is this something else you're going to keep to yourself?

He keeps getting voices in his head, I put it down to excitement at seeing Ed at No.10 and Ed at No.11

glasfryn · Apr 14, 2015

Notters said:
Come on then smirko, let's hear your opinions as well as seeing your thumbs?

you will be lucky I keep getting thumbs down ........................but no contribution to the thread

crookie · Apr 14, 2015

Herr Tubthumper said:
Good post.

As an aside, this single policy will dominate the next few weeks and cost Cameron a lot of votes.

I agree, on the Jeremy Vine show this afternoon, I'd say about 75% of those who messaged in thought it was a stupid idea. Wonder what made him dream this shambles up, not something that I can ever remember hearing as a political priority. A desperate need for houses to be built in London and the South East, sure we're all agreed on that, but if it was mentioned I must have missed it

alfredmizen · Apr 14, 2015

Tom Hark said:
Permanent shortage more like. The Property Ladder as a concept is dead in the water in the UK, Buy a nondescript so-so house for half a million quid with your partner, split up shortly after, end up funding some chancer's pension via their buy-to-let. Wouldn't happen in Germany.

Yes because Gordon Browns ACT raid on pensions has made them such a safe bet these days hasnt it ?

glasfryn · Apr 14, 2015

crookie said:
I agree, on the Jeremy Vine show this afternoon, I'd say about 75% of those who messaged in thought it was a stupid idea. Wonder what made him dream this shambles up, not something that I can ever remember hearing as a political priority. A desperate need for houses to be built in London and the South East, sure we're all agreed on that, but if it was mentioned I must have missed it

they(the tories) are panicking

deletebeepbeepbeep · Apr 14, 2015

How does this help people earning the average UK income get on the housing ladder? Does Cameron understand the issue?

French Seagull · Apr 14, 2015

Westdene Seagull said:
At the risk of being in a minority of one, Right to Buy would be a good thing if implemented properly. I know some people don't wish to own their own home but many do. Anything that allows people to do so rather than pay stupid rents has got to be a good thing. What makes the Tory policy ( and that of the 80s ) so bad is that there is no requirement to replace the sold homes. Councils and HAs should be compelled by law to replace properties using the proceeds from the sale - maybe even compelled to increase the number they hold - i.e. for every 100 sales they have to build 110.

This:

It's totally bonkers policy.

I lived in a housing association place for some years. I got on the list as a student, lived there while I was on a starter salary and as soon as I got some decent wedge, I moved out, freeing it up for someone else. A year later, I had enough in the bank to my own property.That's how HAs work.

So, these days I could have stayed on to pick up my discount and got a bargain house - all totally undeserved, while the HAT loses more of its stock

(not me)

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