to think that banning 'buy-to-let' would go a long way to solving the housing crisis?

[carlajean]

It seems so obvious to me that there's sure to be some flaw in the argument, but it would be easy to enforce (i.e. one family, one house) and there would be a large number of houses/flats released onto the market, forcing the price down (to a rational level) so that people could afford the newly-available housing.
Because interest rates are so low, housing is a good investment, particularly with older people who might have pulled down their pension early, resulting in private landlords buying up cheap housing a letting it out.
I await flaming, but am interested to hear what people think.

don't spoil a good anti-landlord rant with facts, eh?

Do you mean United States? Where if you miss a month's payment, the LL can apply for a court eviction and within 30 days you have a sheriff (police) forcibly removing you from the premises and a hired crew is removing your belongings on the closest public curb?

yup. The toleration for non-payment is low. That has nothing to do with the state of dwellings, so I am not sure of your point. In fact, it might lead to better dwellings as renting is less of a risk.

Based on what figures? You are pulling these statements out of the air.

your the one that talked as if it is a significant category. Well, is it?

"I think that the amount of money available to borrow generally should be drastically cut. I mean, you shouldn't be able to borrow more than your annual salary sort of thing - the banks sloshing wild sums around to first time buyers and buy-to-letters have pushed the prices up and up and up. It's STAGGERING that the houses on my street cost about 12 times my (not unreasonable) annual income, and are still going up by 10 - 12% a year."

The above is priobably London though. In the NE my parents' house went up 7% over the last 5 years. London should almost be dealt with on a separate thread or discussion or areas outside London (i.e. most of the country). Where my children's other grandparents live 2 bed houses cost about £450 a month in rent.

In the street my mother grew up in in the NE houses cost £50k which I accept is a lot of you are on the minimum wage but people on the lowest wages have never been able to buy in the UK.

your the one that talked as if it is a significant category. Well, is it?

Bearing in mind the number of London letting agents who specialise in this kind of property, yes.

Beyond that there are all the people who want the flexibility and freedom to change jobs without being tied to a particular area and have no desire to buy a property or make a commitment with a long term partner. This group would have included all my friends, colleagues and acquaintances of a similar age when I was in my twenties.

Any agreement must suit the needs of both parties. Increase landlord obligations and reduce their flexibility and they need more in return.