Housing crisis

[lollipoprainbow]

Aibu to feel really angry about the housing situation in this country ?? I think it's terrible that tenants that privately rent only get 2 months to find somewhere else to live once issued with a section 21 surely in the current climate of a rental shortage it should be six months ?? I think it's awful that people can't get mortgages despite paying the same or less in rent each month. I think it's disgusting that 'affordable housing' is anything but for the normal low wage earning person. There is zero help for people working on a low wage. Sorry but I just need to vent, I want to complain but don't know who to !!

I hear you. This is why I campaigned for Labour when Corbyn was in power as he would have addressed these things. We lost :( and I've been gutted ever since! I am amazed not everyone is as angry about it as we are. Some people seem to have a very high tolerance for being treated badly! Low self worth?

@GreenNewDealNow

I hear you. This is why I campaigned for Labour when Corbyn was in power as he would have addressed these things. We lost :( and I've been gutted ever since! I am amazed not everyone is as angry about it as we are. Some people seem to have a very high tolerance for being treated badly! Low self worth?

Genuinely unsure if this is supposed to be satire or not 🧐🥴

@PaddleBoardingMomma it's totally immoral in my eyes and there should be a tenants charter where landlords can't pick and choose people who can pay more. My mental health is through the roof at the moment with the stress of it all, I know it sounds over dramatic but when I wake up in the morning it hits me like a ton of bricks a bit like when you've had a bereavement and you wake up and it hits you.

The disparity is shocking isn't it.

Yes it is. It makes me sad and angry in equal parts.

And I can't see the gap ever closing

Well, if any political party came up with a solution I guess there are at least two of us who’d vote for them.

Well, if any political party came up with a solution I guess there are at least two of us who’d vote for them.

Three !

At the end of the day; we have to accept that we're 'okay' with all of this. We vote Tory; we gave a collective yawn to proportional representation.

We voted for Brexit.

We're okay with the status quo.

Yes, many, as demonstrated on here, are outraged; but enough don't care about, or gave no mind to - where this leaves them.

Look after you and yours as best you can. We are in a situation where you cannot care about- or do anything about- those who passively accept, even actively vote against their own best interests.

Look after your own.

It's gutting isn't it?

We're in an ex council house and there are less than 10% of them still council now. It's such a shame as it means that less well off people can't move to the area to be near their families. Then it's made worse by the prices of the next level up being so out of reach that the smaller, cheaper, houses are being taken by people who really should be able to afford to move on to the bigger houses which are taken by the older people who don't need them but have nowhere to downsize to.

All in, it's a mess. I'd love to see more regulation on rentals (including airbnbs!) and more social housing to force landlords to act like decent human beings and force stock back on to the market at a decent price.

“We” didn’t vote Tory or Leave. I’ve never voted Tory and I voted remain. I refuse to take responsibility for other people’s political failure.

The landlord of my property lives in the sixth most expensive house in his small town.
The property I live in has serious damp issues. The kitchen is at least 15 years old. The bathroom is probably older.
The front of the property is a scummy mess and the back garden is a warzone in terms of the weeds that infest it. I'm pretty sure there is Japanese Knot Weed in the garden for the basement flat. Wish I knew who his mortgage provider is so I could inform them.
My previous LL was making profits of around 250.000 pounds a year and admit was a HMO, was extremely intrusive with his presence.
The council had a huge empty property on the seafront that they sold for 360,000 million pounds which has been converted into luxury flats.
They invested the money made into 'customer service'.
In a city where 1 in 69 people are homeless.
The whole rental market is fucked beyond belief and needs serious reforms.

[quote lollipoprainbow]@PaddleBoardingMomma it's totally immoral in my eyes and there should be a tenants charter where landlords can't pick and choose people who can pay more. My mental health is through the roof at the moment with the stress of it all, I know it sounds over dramatic but when I wake up in the morning it hits me like a ton of bricks a bit like when you've had a bereavement and you wake up and it hits you. [/quote]
I'm honestly so so sorry. It's not over dramatic at all, I was in the exact same situation for years and felt the same way. It was like this awful dark weight that just pushed on me constantly. Even now, it makes me anxious to think about. No one should be fearful of home insecurity in a first world country in 2022 😔

People complained at all of the people buying houses to let so the government taxed btl landlords to the hilt, they sold up, the rental stock has diminished accordingly and so rents have gone through the roof as there are too many renters chasing too few stock.

The solution is build more, but no one is doing that, for lots of reasons.

There are a lot of new builds near to us but not really affordable. They are all four bedrooms and detached, it's hard for first time buyers!

@Fairisleflora

People complained at all of the people buying houses to let so the government taxed btl landlords to the hilt, they sold up, the rental stock has diminished accordingly and so rents have gone through the roof as there are too many renters chasing too few stock.

The solution is build more, but no one is doing that, for lots of reasons.

BTL landlords just have to pay the same level of income tax as their tenants. I’m not sure how that translates into taxing them “to the hilt”.

@venusmay

There are a lot of new builds near to us but not really affordable. They are all four bedrooms and detached, it's hard for first time buyers!

My brother recently purchased a new build on an estate after a rather messy divorce, I was thrilled for him as starting from scratch after everything he went through, I was worried he might not be able to make it happen. Then I found out what he paid for it and I was stunned. I thought 2-3 bed New builds on estates were supposed to be starter homes, get you on the ladder....

No political party wants to be in power when a house price crash happens, it's a structual issue that all sides have been complicit in add on top that the UK being one of the most densly populated countries in the west.

Corbyn wouldn't have solved the issue as it's far more complex than just build 'more social housing', also Labour would drop any hint of PR if they got into power, lets not start playing games that Labour would be a saviour, good v evil narrative. It is far more complex with being a globalised society, I have a friend who ironically was a big Corby fan, can't accept that his principles has been a life long anti EU integeration, are open boarders and then complain that there 'quaint' suburb is being targetted for more housing becauyse it 'might' impact on her house price, it really isn't some brexit/tory binary decision some are wanting it to be.

Adult conversations are needed, just the same as around the NHS, we are in a different century and a vastly differnet landscape that some paint it as, it really isn't as simple as vote x to solve it.

Landlord taxes are much, much higher than they were before for landlords who have mortgages. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just cause and effect. The high rents seen now are largely due to the tax rise meaning landlords leaving the market.

@Fairisleflora

Landlord taxes are much, much higher than they were before for landlords who have mortgages. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just cause and effect. The high rents seen now are largely due to the tax rise meaning landlords leaving the market.

What you mean is that landlords no longer get tax relief on the interest on their mortgages - that other people are paying anyway. On what planet was that fair? High rents - far in excess of mortgage payments - are due to pure greed. It really is as simple as that. If they really were leaving the market in any numbers, house prices would have fallen.

@Annoyedtoomuch

Blossomtoes

Or it might flood the market with realistically priced property for people to buy who will actually live in it.

I agree. Less investor land lords means more housing stock, more choice and so lower prices.

Landlords are switching to holiday lets instead. Many have also sold up but as we've all seen, house prices are still rising.

Not everyone can afford to buy or wants to buy (yes, really!). I wonder where those folks are supposed to live if there's no active rental property market?

There are multiple threads on MN about greedy landlords snapping up properties and FTBs/low income can’t get a look in. Then when LL want to sell up, they again get crucified. You can’t have it both ways.
The issue is the deposit that’s required to buy a home in the first place. That sits with banks. The financial crash in 2008 was due to decades of 100%+ borrowing and so banks won’t be making this mistake again, hence the need for a deposit.

@JaceLancs
If your friend is over 50 she should apply to the council for over 50s accommodation
It’s much much easier to get than standard council
HA houses as less demand
I know 3 people in the last 6 months who all waited less than 4 months to get a 1 bed flat in over 50s accommodation and I’m in a popular city in the southwest where there is very little council - HA stock

She can apply and be homeless at home at your address
I would definitely recommend this

I'm a teacher and I rent following a divorce. My rent is 67% of my income. To buy the house I rent I would need to earn 4 times more, or have half a million deposit. MN says time again that I should move to a cheaper area - there aren't any really nice and even if I did, I'd be hundreds of miles from anyone I know and would have to start over at nearly 50. I can't go back to where I'm from, as it's a stronghold for second home buyers and I'm priced out of there too.

Aren't any really now

@fallfallfall

the problem with tenancy protection is that some people are not good tenants. if you want a "your" home...well you need to buy it. a renter is always a renter.