To think we should ban private renting?

I agree with the idea in principle however it would affect new relationships I think, no option to test the waters renting a property together before buying, or blending families where both own a property so one rents out theirs to move in with the other. I think what would actually happen is people would rent from people they know but have none of the legal protection currently in place

@ThePeppyOpalScroller. As someone who is 64 and rents really nice houses, I certainly think of it as home, Ive been here 4 years, have a gardener, pictures up ( landlord totally happy with it and asked if we wanted hooks left up before we moved in 4 years ago) agent actually commented my home looks much nicer and better order than many he goes to value for sale- yes I don’t own it and as it’s a £1m house that’s not going to happen - but whilst I’m in it and paying, it’s home , just a leased one. Not all tenants are the same - there’s a vast variety of tenants and reasons -

Ok I’ll bite!

Your question is flawed. I won’t ever have to start at entry level again, Im in a senior role in a job that is very much needed and very full on. Oh And before you ask I’m currently on leave to stay with my MIL (dementia) whilst my FIL is in hospital - hence I’m wasting time on mumsnet!

However, as previously stated, my daughter is at entry level in her chosen profession and doesn’t rely on the state to provide her housing. She works full time during the week and then works Saturday evenings and some Sundays to supplement her income with an aim to get on the housing ladder - personally I’d prefer she blows the lot on back packing round the world!

People who rent are "cos-playing home ownership"?

You are a revolting person

I think it depends tbh.

Often you’re right and it is their home. Very much so.

However, when I was a student my family home was the place I considered home. The apartments I rented were just temporary accommodation and I never saw them as my home really.

A friend rents a (very small) apartment in London where he works two, three or four days a week. His home is in Ireland where his wife and kids live in the family home.

They do and it hasn’t always worked out well. Energy for profit. Water for profit. Social care for profit. Housing for profit.

Many support a not for profit NHS. Basic needs should be non profit as the Thatcher model (including PFI) hasn’t helped the masses.

No. A mortgaged property belongs to the owner. The financial institution has a lean on the property and hold the deeds. But the owner is free to sell or make changes, extend. You can't make a home in a rented property because you have no co trol over it. You cant alter it, extend it, sell it. It's can be sold without your consent. Making a home in a rented property is cos-playing home ownership. You'd be foolish to think of a rented property as belonging to you or treating it as "home." I never looked at any place I rented as my home, they were an address and a place to live out of. But calling a rented property a home is whay is causing so much trouble for the rental sector.

Your posts are dripping with ‘rather than rely on the state’, ‘how can you believe that’ and noting you ‘worked hard and saved’. Implying that those who need or would benefit from social housing, including to help be in a position to then save or achieve their aspirations are somehow lesser is more than just disagreeing.

You’ve been called out on a haughty viewpoint and avoided the Q: If you lost absolutely everything tomorrow, could you in this day and age, with zero help, starting again at entry level employment, on your own replicate what you have now? Bearing in mind you’d need to privately rent first to get that first deposit? That’s the point. Social housing including as a springboard is a way to pay it forward for the next generation to also have a chance.

Not to mention it would reduce the UC housing element costs overall.

It is their home - what other home do they have?

Are leasehold flats also not someone’s home? Properties with a mortgage?

it’s residence, not ownership, that makes a home.

It isnt the renters home. It's a property they rent. If I rent a car it doesn't become my car.

Sometimes people rent for different reasons. There's a rental in our cul de sac. One family rented because they'd moved up here to look for a house wanting the kids enrolled in local schools. They did buy and moved out,.

Another time a couple came back from Australia to help care for an elderly parent who was dying. Their UK extended were able to visit, share the load of caring.

Private renting gives you more choices. You can be picky about where you live, how many rooms you have, a garden or not, who you live with, picking somewhere fully furnished etc.

A couple seeking SH is going to be limited to a one bed place, probably in a flat with no garden, no way to have extra rooms for a home office or hobbies.
Sometimes friends live together. I don't think SH allows for that.
My ex rented a flat with a colleague that they lived in Mon-Fri (both were working a year long contract in a job that was too far to commute daily). Both had their main homes, so they would not be eligible for SH had it been the only choice.

I have rented at various points in my life, including now, because I need(ed) the flexibility. I have plenty of money. Not enough to waste on a property I am going to leave in 6 months. The world is a lot more mobile now. You may be poor, lots of people are not and need/want to rent. And what about students, young professionals?

You also assume the government will do a great job maintaining these properties. I very highly doubt it.

When they show the auctions its young people or construction/handy men in the audience in great numbers. The phone in/Internet bids could be older individuals. Estate agency or overseas.

I know two estate agent firms the first a married couple she handles the sales he buys run down properties, then lets them.

The second estate agents the owner has a loose consortium of wealthy people who share in buying residential properties and commercial ones. They're not involved physically in renovation, lettings. Just divvy up the income from the portfolio.

Totally disagree! I've had health issues for decades and whilst I do work part time I also rent out my old house (I struggled to sell it) and it's the only way I can afford to live as it tops up my part time salary to full time. It's saved me from poverty. It also stops me from claiming any sort of benefits (I've never claimed). I could easily say, how about you work harder and buy your own home rather than relying on the state to provide you with cheap housing? That's not nice is it!?! Not everyone who is a landlord is rolling in it, believe me

I think there are several things that could be done
1 totally stop right to buy ( although I think that is in the pipeline)
2 dramatically increase supply of HA and at least 50% of new tenancies go to people who have paid at least 5 years tax and NI within last 10 years - - buy back in bits and bobs off open market- not just small new builds - proper established family houses in areas where people want to live
3 no foreign property buyers or shell companies used by foreign buyers ( when we lived in Denmark this was quite strictly regulated)

1. Rent caps relative to area and size of property . Not at social housing levels, but maybe half as much again and more like the levels that UC actually take into account - Yes some landlords would get out of it but on the plus side these could then be bought back by private big companies and HA etc who do it for long term investment, not quick buck and can work with the rent caps.

5 bring back DIYSO - on a large scale - ( do it yourself shared ownership) both for houses and flats - this was in under Blair and was so successful they stopped it as it was pissing if house builders - we bought our flat on this when I was pregnant with my son back in -98 - nice big one bedder in Crouch End - off open market - straight forward 50/50 deals- share of freehold necessary . Works fantastically well in expensive areas and for those who are working but can’t get sufficient mortgages or big deposits- basically 50% on mortgage- 50% owned by HA - any gains are split 50/50 . Rent paid on non owned share at 2.5% .
7 bring back self declaration mortgages if you have 15% deposit - it’s ludicrous that plenty like us that are self employed but highish earners couldn’t buy without jumping through multiple hoops and having to actually not declare and offset any business costs to get your profits to look high enough on paper - the fact is if you work for yourself and it’s consistent you actually know far more about how your business is doing than any young thing on £40k who can be made redundant tommorrow - people like ourselves have been hogging nice private rented houses whereas in reality we could easily have bought 8 yearsago but can’t get the mortgages

Housing associations and social landlords would never be able to afford to buy them all at market prices. They likely wouldn't have the capital or the means to get a mortgage to buy them. When they build new homes they get all sorts of grants to be able to afford it.

Pension providers/funds buy entire blocks of flats off plan to rent out as do overseas investors. I know of two blocks in Manchester bought by a Chinese consortium. It's not the nest egg people with one home that live locally, but the untouchable owners on another continent.

This is widespread and shocking. I’m surprised successive governments have allowed it to happen.
@honeyrosesandwich what do you think of this practice?

I can think of a "what about" case.
What about people who need to live elsewhere for a short period and so rent their property out in the mean time?

Our neighbours did this. Their employers wanted them to work in a location overseas for about a year. Obviously they did not want to sell it when they knew they were coming back. Rather than leave it empty they rented for the short term they were away. I have known others do this in the past when on work placement of a year or two so it can't be that rare.

If you banned private rental then these perfectly good family houses would stand empty until their owners came back.

Personally I think the government should build high rise flats that are big 3/4 bedrooms like in Dubai to house people, with a GP at the base.

Certainly that would reduce the amount of farmland having houses built on it. However in UK high rise flats seem to be less popular than houses or low rise flats.

How will the system work regarding the size of property you are allocated? Will same sex children be required to share? What if you need a home office or space for stepchildren or guests? Would there be an option to pay more for add ons or will it strictly be a case of you get what you are given?

Sigh
Just because I have a different view to you - doesn’t mean I’m looking down on anyone!

What happens if someone needs to rent short term? Like waiting for a house to be built or renovated, a delay in the sale/purchase of a new house, moving to a new city and not wanting to buy before getting a sense of the place? Will the HA be happy to have a 2
month rolling lease agreement?
I don’t believe that putting all rentals in the hands of local government will be the best option, look at all the threads here about the local council failing to make repairs, fucking them up etc etc.

Many work extremely hard but don’t have the luxury of being able to save or get on. Meritocracy is no longer correlated. If you were to lose everything tomorrow, would you, completely on your own, no help from anyone else be able to rent and replicate your current situation over time? Starting back in an entry level job. Chances are absolutely not so maybe don’t look down on others who also work extremely hard but are in a catch 22 situation.

PS my own Victorian terrace “mansion” would come into the not good enough category.