To think housing in this country is fundamentally broken?

What I don't get though is how there's such a housing shortage problem, but at the same time there's empty properties even in highly popular areas. Several empty properties for decades in my wider neighborhood, and it's very sought after area. It's in a city in the East Midlands, for context and frame of reference, but very sought after nonetheless!

The difference being that previously people had to sort out their own problems with no government help. Why, because there was no other option.

When was this? There was certainly a lot more social housing in the past

Housing works very well for plenty of people. Those who are very nicely housed in homes they bought and paid for decades ago.
These very same people object furiously and vigorously to any planning applications for new homes (or indeed other building works) anywhere near them and make it their life's work to get building stopped.
These people are doing very well and are very happy with things as they are.

The scenario you describe is something that could have happened at any point in the last 40 years. Very difficult but not just a 2025 problem. The difference being that previously people had to sort out their own problems with no government help. Why, because there was no other option.

So my self employed DH shuts his business. Makes 10 people redundant. Gets an employed job elsewhere for half the salary.
we take the teenagers out of school and away from their friends. Away from any support network we have and they have

To save £500-£700 a month in rent.

orrr we find a house share for four people??!

give your head a wobble

I said it is expensive for everyone. That means all people find it expensive.

So you think the housing market is fine and dandy as it is, that the rocketing prices and wage stagnation and changing employment landscape and speed of it all are irrelevant, and that people haven't already thought of your "solutions" before discovering that the numbers don't add up?

I'd love to know which Utopia you're living in where it's that simple 🙄

Everyone finds housing expensive. Cut your cloth accordingly applies to everyone. If too expensive, share or move to a cheaper area.

It's meaningless to say there are plenty of properties available if they are out of reach of the majority to either rent or buy - the key word in the PPs comment was "affordable" .

I’ve read that the government wants fewer parking spaces in new build estates:

‘NEW HOUSING DESIGN guidelines issued to local authorities sets out that some housing developments should have fewer car parking spaces, smaller gardens, and increased bike storage facilities’

This won’t be popular as few provincial towns have good public transport.

Look on Rightmove. Loads of available properties across all areas. Rent or buy,, new and old. Why are you not acknowledging that fact?

The govt won't even get close to their target because
a) there's a major skills shortage
b) developers will only build if it makes them money.

They've built 36 new houses in our village. One has sold, the rest standing empty. No-one can afford them. All £600k+ Four are over £1m.

There are also 5 older properties for sale locally. All have been on the market for a year or more. One has now been let.

Our real issues are a stalling economy, rising unemployment, job insecurity, and high levels of debt. They need fixing first.

@Balletpoint Not a single statistic agreed with you. One reason for a housing shortage is divorce. Another is immigration. Another is lack of bungalows. A big one is lack of money to buy anything. There’s not oversupply of rental properties at all - not ones that are affordable. Where is this glut of rental properties?

There are plenty of properties to buy or rent available. Some immaculate some needing work and a bargain. We don't need to build more properties destroying the countryside.

Well if we need housing we need to get building it! We are no further forward with building starts and after Covid we did improve our building stats a bit. We have huge log jams with building sites taking years to get final pp as councils argue over everything and building doesn’t start for 10 years. The builders then get accused of land banking. That’s inevitable with the slow process of getting pp.

The government is looking at bypassing local councils for large schemes and this might free up the land we need. Green belt isn’t all fabulous farmland - our bit has HS2 going through it! It’s ruined but I cannot build in my garden or even extend my house - it’s reached its limit. We do need more flexibility in where we build. If nothing changes we don’t get enough homes to buy or rent and the government won’t get close to its targets. After 18 months of this parliament, nothing has changed.

It goes on…

Other major proposed policies include default approval for new homes within walking distance of train, Tube and tram stations, including on green belt land.
New homes will also have to include special bricks for endangered birds. However, environmental rules will be loosened for smaller housebuilding projects.
Councils will also essentially be barred from setting stricter standards than those set by the Government to prevent local Government officials to stalling developments.
Developers could also be granted the freedom to opt out of providing affordable housing at a development, instead handing that money to councils to spend on social housing.
Labour has said rewriting the planning rulebook to include these policies will help to hit its target to build 1.5 million homes by the end of parliament.

From yesterday’s Telegraph

Labour’s planning shake-up could trigger a wave of new “granny flats” being built in back gardens across the country, a think tank has said.
Under the Government’s efforts to boost housebuilding, homeowners will find it much easier to build small properties on their land as long as they are no bigger than twice the footprint of the original house.

Re: gardens, I wasn't suggesting building in them. As others that live in busy areas we have plots that get completely consumed by building, right up to the boundaries. At which point you may as well have built a terrace. All green aesthetic balance evaporates. I love gardens, but also green public spaces. I was merely jesting that lots of barely used space and things could be shared.

Councils actually building homes is negligible. They don’t have the architects, staff, lend or ability to build homes in any numbers. They require house builders to do it for them and that is not going to happen in any volume.

Also distance between houses is about habitual rooms that are facing each other. If they are at an angle of 30 degrees or more, the distance is far less. However back yard development has been ruled out before and will continue to be.

Building in the vast majority of UK gardens is a non-starter because of planning guidance requiring 70 feet of separation between windows of habitable rooms. (This figure apparently represents the maximum distance at which the female nipple is discernable to the naked eye and, somewhat disturbingly, was derived in an exercise involving two men and actual breasts...).

Building in gardens does have consequences like fewer green spaces or trees and an increase in population with no increase in roads, schools, stations etc etc

Also an estate of nicely spaced 1950s detached houses with gardens and a homogenous look becomes a hodge podge of random roof slopes, entrance ways etc and car parking on the roads and once the street is screwed it's forever screwed, nothing's going to be demolished.

Yep, my son spent a couple of year living/working in York and we couldn't believe how expensive it was. Way over half his take home wage for a tiny one bed studio-style flat, and that was virtually impossible to find in the first place as there is so little accommodation and what little comes onto the market gets snapped up within hours - if you can't view on the day it's listed, you've no chance at all. DS had to offer a year in advance and 10% over asking price just to be put forward to the owner for consideration!! That's because so much "Normal" housing in York has been lost to holiday lets and student lets (2 Unis).

Completely different. There isn't a shortage of cars! Yes, lots of gardens, but most are impossible to build separate homes on due to lack of access. I don't have a problem with homes that are occupied on a daily basis, even if only a few hours. The problem is people having homes that are empty for far too long, i.e. second homes, holiday lets and even student lets - where they're empty for weeks at a time. I've no problem with holiday lets that aren't suitable for living in, such as barn conversions, and gimmick home like railway carriages, canal boats, shepherds huts, etc., but not homes in blocks of flats nor housing estates that were built as homes. We need to change planning permissions so that "homes" built as flats/housing estates are prohibited by being used as second homes or holiday lets or student flats, so that people can live in them as homes.

Councils who still have housing stock tend to be the ones building new council homes - if you have housing stock you have a ring fenced and separate housing revenue account. This is rental revenue and can only be used to manage and maintain existing homes annd services for tenants and to build new stock, Otherwise councils would have to use the general fund to build, and these are under huge financial strain. Labours new Social and Affordable housing programme is just about to get underway and with this a push to get councils building more. If it works it will be great but it is a huge challenge.

labour have reformed Right to Buy including the discount amount. Time will tell what difference that will make. It needs to be scrapped completely. There are roads and roads of housing where every single home has been sold off under RTB. Family homes and so there are 177,000 children living in temporary accommodation, unacceptable.

Affordable homes is a definition that covers social and affordable rent, shared ownership and some other tenures. On developer sites there is usually a percentage of affordable homes in line with the planning policy of that local authority. These homes are usually bought by a housing association. Although sometimes now also by private providers funded by pension funds etc - affordable housing is a safe long term asset with proven returns and it also suits social values of some of them. They still have to meet standards from government. These homes are protected as affordable housing under a legal agreement.

I know it's not a race to the bottom, but if you want to see how truely bad it can get then have a look at the housing situation in Ireland. There is no affordable housing in any tenure. 50 percent of disposable income for substandard shared house is the norm in our cities if you can find it. Don't let it get this bad.
One of our daughters moved to York last year to study post grad and can't believe how affordable housing is in York. Not something you would hear many English people say.