To wonder why the government isn’t building more flats?

There are new flats built in Woking wanting £4k a month rent!!

No agree they aren’t always affordable @BoredZelda, I guess the point I was trying to make is that a lot of my London friends look down their noses at me living in a flat - even though it’s a lovely, period property that’s bigger and worth more than a lot of their houses. And it’s in a lovely area.

This thread has shown that too - there’s a lot of snobbery around flats.

We could save space and build nice family sized flats close to amenities (transport links, parks, shops schools, jobs etc) but a lot of people in the UK just wouldn’t consider a flat regardless.

I’m not saying it’s right or wrong - up to everyone what you prefer, a flat works for me as I like living centrally and wouldn’t want to live somewhere that suburban or rural. But realise that others have v different priorities and that’s fine too! I guess there’s just not much demand for family flats as they aren’t seen as desirable and/or don’t fit with what a lot of people are looking for.

Glad someone else posted with a Scottish perspective!

Not all are shitty
I live in a block of 4. Have patio doors out into my own private garden. 2 bed, 2 bath, 75sqm
solid and no noise

And mine. There’s no lovely family houses but endless blocks of flats on every available space. SE

1. The Gov doesn't prioritise social housing, because it doesn't value 'society' in the sense that some other countries do. They think ahead as far as what will win them the next election, not what will make the country as a whole stronger over the next 20 years.
2. The antiquated freehold/leasehold system in the UK.
3. Land - large swathes of land are still owned by wealthy individuals/families, whereas in some other countries, a city will own all the land, so when they need to build new buildings, they own the land to do so.

Sure, but these aren’t mostly affordable.

Unfortunately the tiny boxes they build in the Uk are not comparable to a lot of the flats in European towns and cities. Too small, no storage space, no access to a balcony or garden, featureless, troublesome leasehold charges and conditions, fire safety issues.

Like the ones in AMS Scotland Street series, yes they sound lovely

Same.

I'd never consider living in a flat unless it was soundproofed, not open plan and had a large balcony or my own private space.

Lots of people do live in flats, especially in cities where space is limited.

But ultimately why does it matter if people in the uk prefer terraced houses and private gardens to flats. They arent that space inefficient.

X post with @Floradon

Do you live in a flat OP? If not; why not?

Are they? Our three double bedrooms, utility room, built in cupboards and walk in washing machine/tumbler room gave us plenty of storage and space to dry washing. I’m living in a house for the first time in my life, I also have the least storage space I have ever had in a home. I’ve never paid a massive service charge either, including ones with a concierge.

You keep saying UK when purpose built freehold tenement flats have always been popular in Scottish towns and cities, that’s what we built when everyone else was building terraces. I live in a nice small town and there are some across the road from me, stone built Victorian, mind you every time the old person living in them dies they are bought by buy to let landlords so they aren’t extracting to the pool of affordable flats. Don’t get me started on all the lovely flats in Edinburgh that are now Airbnbs…

I live in an Edinburgh tenement flat. 1870s built, marble fireplaces, coving, ceiling roses, working wooden shutters, 3.2m high ceilings, 3 bedrooms, 125meters squares. Shared (big) garden. No ground rent (we don’t really have leasehold here). Lots of neighbours have kids and we are in an excellent school catchment. Park is one minute walk away, swimming pool less than ten minutes, city centre 15 minutes walk away.

Lots of my London friends (where I’m from) ask why I bought a flat/when I’m going to move to a house. I won’t - because I live in a gorgeous flat v close to the city centre which is bigger than their new build houses in zone 6 London (it also cost more though). But none of them would ever consider living in a flat beyond a first time buyer type property

My experience is that the attitude in the UK (and particularly England) is quite snobbish about flats and they are not seen as desirable. There is therefore limited demand for bigger family sized flats. And there’s probably no point in developers building big, well designed and attractive flats like the Georgian and Victorian tenements of Scotland because people wouldn’t want to pay for them.

I work for a house builder in the midlands and apartments are a nightmare to sell, no one wants them. The lack of outdoor space, the risk of a crappy neighbour above you then not to mention the lease/management company/extra added fees!!

Leasehold is a pain. High service charges that can increase astronomically for poor service. Also the length of a lease can be an issue and expensive if you need to extend it. People like to have some outside space.

Presuming you’re in the UK then you’re also in Europe this week. Why do people always talk about Europe as a separate place?!

Social housing here is virtually non existent as is any kind of help from the government to help pay towards your rent.

Where in Europe were you? In Spain a large number of affordable flats are old, cold in the winter and a sweat box in the summer and expensive to run due to the cost of living rising exponentially compared to salaries. The new flats that are warm and comfortable are on the whole unaffordable to most people as salaries here are so dire.

Yes the flats aren’t great and who wants selfish noisy neighbours

even the new build detached 4 bed houses are small these days.

living in a box

I grew up in a flat in the center of a European city, I know the type of flat you mean and it isn’t comparable to the ones found in the UK. I am comfortable living in a flat so we bought a new build one (in London, with a high mortgage). We are lucky that it’s not a massive block (20 flats) and most is privately owned, I know some neighbours, we socialise and we have a WhatsApp group. BUT there is a lack of storage space and bedrooms are small compared to Europe, the service charges are so high and the managing company is nowhere to be found, and also we have so many issues with the social tenants (a few flats are for social housing, as noted above for planning permissions). Fly tipping that we foot the bill for, noises, shouting in the middle of the night, music, aggressive dogs, hoarding, drug use. I love living in a flat but there are too many negatives out of my control, plus the square footage is so small compared to a typical European flat.

I don’t want to live in one as a family with children. And I don’t think it’s a healthy way to live, personally speaking.

I like a house with a garden. Private outdoor space is essential. The block of flats we lived in had a playground for the children, but it’s inconvenient to be going up and down every time they want to play. And I couldn’t let them go by themselves to play in case there was an accident or injury, I had to be there with them. Noisy neighbours above and below were an issue. It’s inconvenient with shopping and pushchairs and small children and it’s not as easy as popping out your own front door.

It was also very lonely and isolating living in the flat; I didn’t meet any neighbours, we were all atomised individuals living in our own little cells. I don’t think it’s a natural or healthy way to live. Being ‘down to earth’ is more convenient and there’s more sense of community. In the flat, sometimes it was such an effort getting in and up it made me less likely to want to go out again; once I was in, I stayed in. Now, I meet the neighbours on the street and we have a chat and get to know each other. I’d never live in a flat again if I had any other choice.