To think rents are going up because of insane levels of demand and not billionaires buying all the houses?

Why do we have so many properties unoccupied?

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 27 October 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Number of vacant and second homes, England and Wales: Census 2021

Which is why need incentives to make it worth their while.

I think you’ll need to say more, what is wrong with that statement?

All homeowners are "greedy" to a certain extent, if they weren't then they'd accept a lower offer which will still be more than they payed for the property in the 1st place. maybe there should be a price cap when it comes to selling up.

That tends to happen in 70 when people' health and financies decline as is a slow build up situation - but most people aren't up for moving at that point in their lives till they have little choice - it's too much

When peopel look brefore retriement or just after they find costs and risks - and they often want the "extra" space often downstairs becuase they are spening more time than ever before in their property.

Young people are staying at home longer now because they can’t afford to rent or buy their own home. Our 2 adult DC are still at home because London and SE are so expensive. My DH and I bought our own 3 bed house when we were 22/26 but that impossible here now especially if you’re single.

I'm in favour of bringing the deadline for a required minimum EPC rating of C forward for all rental properties with no exceptions. I'm not interested in whether it a 'Victorian terrace' or any other type of property.

We failed to build enough for decades - and poltical concenus we had at one point to build more went in 80s.

We are not the only country with housing crisis - Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Germany and parts of the US.

Everyone focuses on immigration, but I’d have thought pressure also comes from people living longer, and higher rates of divorce or people never cohabiting in the first place, which will create more households

This is very true household have got smaller over time.

You’d ban Victorian terraces as rentals? Are you serious?

Exactly why should the boomers downsize? What do you want us to downsize to? A shed?

What benefit ia it for people to downsize?, it costs to move

Why should tenants bear the extortionate cost of heating an energy inefficient hell hole? The sooner those types of properties are banned as rentals the better.

There isn’t a shortage of homes on the ‘to buy market ‘ There is a shortage of houses that people can actually afford to buy in certain areas and certainly a lack of affordable rentals partly due to less people being able to buy -

Several factors

1. Net migration into the country is huge, last count 3/4 of million and even accounting that many are migrants bringing families so not all individual housing requirements far exceeds housing being built so demand exceeding supply.
2. The previous and now current govt have waged a campaign of demonisation and taxation against landlord who are responding and selling their housing. So whilst it is not lost to the market, it results in huge pressure on demand for quality rented properties (and most are as most small landlords maintain high quality). Therefore the most vulnerable being those that can’t afford to buy experience the most pressure and as ever with governments, the loss isn’t being replaced by social housing, and even if it was funded, govts are so useless it takes years to provide

Divorce- has also driven the need for more family homes. There's less generational living also increasing the need for more homes. Was mentioned earlier young adults are moving out of family homes before they would have done when I was young unless it was needed due to work.

All these things add to the demand for more homes. I'm not a boomer I'm not quite that old but when I was first flat hunting it was all bedsits, frequently with a shared bathroom- it really was 1 room with a very basic kitchen added. Housing was overcrowded, you'd have a family with say 4 children in a 3 bed house. People wouldn't accept conditions now that were relatively common then.

Those bedsits would probably only house about a 3rd of the people now due to needing better kitchens and own bathrooms. Yes much better quality of living but it has costs too, higher rent and house prices.

Well what the fuck do people think will happen if our population rises by near on 1 million a year? Are they stupid? The results will be a shortage of housing; more air pollution; less food sustainability; more pressure on services; and greater energy needs. You can’t ‘Jeremy Corbyn’ your way out of that, it’s a physical impossibility. Why is everyone so thick and wilfully ignorant?

It's a big mess with many ingrediants- all started by Thatcher 's 'Right to buy.'

Everyone focuses on immigration, but I’d have thought pressure also comes from people living longer, and higher rates of divorce or people never cohabiting in the first place, which will create more households. As a landlord stuck with a property I can’t currently sell (caught in the £250 ground rent AST trap), I do emit a hollow laugh every time landlords making megabucks is mentioned. I make a loss on the rental income from it, when you factor in mortgage / service charge etc, and I then pay about 60% marginal tax rate on that income. And I can’t sell it until the legislation heaves its way over the line. A cash cow it ain’t.

Tell me you don’t understand the housing crisis without telling me.

Yes. Lots of demand - more and more people needing to find somewhere to rent.

And supply is falling back because BTL property is no longer a very attractive option for many people who are looking to invest some of their money. There are ever more and more expensive hoops to jump through and tax advantages have been stripped away. So I’m in the process of selling my one BTL property - I’ll just stick the money in stocks and shares instead. Far less hassle.

It’s disastrous for renters.

Universities are generally considered economic drivers for encomies - we punch above our weight in research and tech - and univeristies are huge employers in area they are in - and foreign students not only subside UK students course they bring money into the UK economy.

Higher education "exports" mostly going to be foreign students brought in £21.7 billion in 2021. While it's doesn't sound like a huge amount it roughly the black hole amount in government spending that had everyone worried while back and lead to higher bussiness taxes and more borrowing.

I think over time the HE educations ector will start to shrink - but there will be coqunces to that and I suspect it affect on housing costs will be negligible.

why would you want thousands of people to lose their jobs?