How many more houses should be build

[Jolonglegs]

I really feel for people who can't buy or rent a house to live in, and there is a general feeling that we need to build more, but is there a limit to this? Can we just keep on building and building to meet the demand, or should we start thinking about reducing the demand?
One thing that always annoys me is the people who have second homes. I have heard of villages in the Lake District where more than 50% of the houses are second homes, and are empty for much of the year. That can't be right can it?

Second homes bother me far less than foreign owned properties!!!!

Not sure of the exact number that should be built but certainly in London I wish they would build houses, not just high rise flats.

Second homes should attract double the council tax, so I agree in that respect.

Would like to see big tax incentives for brownfield sites.

We've got enough houses already. They're just not where people want to live, necessarily. What we need is a focus away from the South / London not being the only place to have a good quality of life, invest in areas North of Watford and where ordinary people can still afford to buy their houses.

If I'd worked hard enough to be able to afford to buy a holiday home though, I wouldn't appreciate someone telling me what I could and couldnt do with my money, purely out of jealousy.

Not sure how we would reduce the demand short of euthanasia.
As it is many people will never have a house of their own (or even to rent), but will have a room or a flat. Or live in an overcrowded house.

We should build until there is no more demand.

Treacletoots I'm sure there's some truth to houses being in the wrong place, but are there really hundreds of thousands of houses sitting there empty because no one wants them?

They're just not where people want to live, necessarily. People live where the work is, I think thats the bigger issue.

In addition to building (which I am a great advocate of) we also need to bring derelict buildings back into use.

Where I live there are 3 tower blocks that have lain empty the entire time I've lived here (about 10 years) because there are safety issues with the buildings as they are now and no private company will shell out to sort them and the council can't afford to.

That's I think around 350 potential homes lying empty and unused and there's a massive homelessness problem here too.

Took me 8 years to get a social housing place.

Estimates vary from 100,000 to 400,000 empty homes in England alone.

It's also greed on the part of the owners, not allowing the properties to be sold/let for lower amounts.

There should be a legal time limit to how long a property can be left vacant before fines are imposed fines which should be big enough to drive owners to dropping prices.

Also to those of you saying houses rather than flats, in a country as small as ours is that's completely impractical! We simply don't have masses of land to build on like eg Germany or France and certainly not like the states which is HUGE!

Yes it would be nice if people could have houses and gardens white picket fences but it's not remotely realistic.

I lived in one county which BANS building anything above 3 stories PURELY for "aesthetic" reasons - a luxury they cannot afford being another part of the country with a HUGE homelessness issue.

If there isn't the land to build ON you need to build UP the way.

Good quality flats with good infrastructure nearby creating good safe communities IS possible, it's done in many other countries where the snobbery about house v flat and owning v renting don't exist

This govt simply won't pay out for it.

It's not just about housing it's about good facilities and community necessities.

Schools, gps, libraries, community hubs, recreational facilities, local shops and services...

My family are from glasgow initially. When the "new" estates were built in the 60's and 70's they didn't just build decent flats for people to live in they put on these estates a health centre inc pharmacy, playgrounds, swimming pools, schools, community centres (usually containing halls which were hired out for birthdays, weddings etc), a local shopping "arcade" with maybe 6-12 different shops and services (hairdresser/barber, "corner shop", bakers, hardware store etc)...

They created not just housing but homes!

Taking this approach means many other issues are reduced too, crime, antisocial behaviour, addiction, mental health issues...

It's so short sighted and greed driven to merely continue to maintain the current situation where owners and property developers wants are prioritised.

But hardly surprising when many MPs of all colours are multiple property owners, landlords and property developers - you'll see it in their voting records where they consistently vote against tenants rights, policies to reduce housing costs, policies to encourage building.

Ideally we need to even out the economy, with more job creation and opportunities outside London and the southeast.

More affordable and social housing is needed - I think there is as much an affordability crisis as a supply crisis, at least in parts of the country. Empty homes should be brought back into use; there are nearly 2,000 in my town - which is the same number of houses that will be built on a massive new greenfield development.

It's not just about housing it's about good facilities and community necessities.

Schools, gps, libraries, community hubs, recreational facilities, local shops and services... - totally agree with this! There's a three-week wait for a routine GP appointment where I live.

it is criminal that any town should have 2000 empty homes. Part of the reason is years of stupid financial policy - no VAT on new builds but full VAT on fixes and renovations. So houses in towns near all the facilities rot while shoeboxes on estates add flood risk and pollution due to no transport.

it's not hard, is it? Except apparently it is.

Having lived in a range of houses over the years, from bungalows to houses to flats, I'd never live in a flat again. They're very damaging to mental health.

You're forced to deal with other people's issues far more than if you have your own space. Issues such as shared bin spaces, gardens, parking, communal entries etc., cause endless points of conflict and that's aside from the privacy issue. Not all of us want to live in a commune. What about those with anxiety and introverted tendencies?

If I'd worked hard enough to be able to afford to buy a holiday home though, I wouldn't appreciate someone telling me what I could and couldnt do with my money, purely out of jealousy.

Oh dear, what makes you think that if someone objected to you buying a holiday home that it would be out of jealousy? Is it not a moral issue with so many people wanting a first home?

@NightsOfCabiria well built flats organised properly don't have to mean that those in them have to deal with the issues you mention.

Op I agree it's not jealousy it's moral disagreement. People having 2nd homes (and pushing up house prices in often very rural, deprived areas) when there are so many homeless is immoral

Hi @Graphista I agree but given the state of most new build properties, how likely is it that they’ll be well built and well organised? Only the v expensive ones I’ll bet. Same with new build ‘affordable’ housing estates. Such a shame.