To think that Boris bringing back the 'Right to buy' scheme from the 80s is a terrible idea

[somewhereoverthechipshop]

Just this really. I think it's a slap in the face for all those private renters who cannot afford to buy a home, and just a horrible idea.
Boris Johnson mulls a new Right to Buy scheme as housebuilding hits the curb (cityam.com)

Not sure if link above works, but you can google it.
Evidently he is 'mulling over' the idea of bringing back Margaret Thatcher's scheme from the late 80s that decimated this country's council housing stock.
Just wondered what other people thought about it?

They aren't even keeping it as investment money in the same way they did

that’s because interest rates have been low for so long. When you only get pennies in interest on your hard earned savings, who can blame people for looking for other ways to capitalise on them ?

I'm not blaming them at all! I'm just noting that it's happening. Money doesn't mean the same now as it did 15 years ago. As you say it's due to interest rates but also imo quantitative easing and wage suppression. Just quantitative easing alone would do it fgs - if you have £1m and the bank of England prints £100m then you're already down on your £1m even by the end of one single day. And this has been going on a lot longer than than a day.

Some Landlords are an issue - they are not all doing some great service to society. What you will find are a lot of landlords who buy houses in “cheap areas”, get tenants in on a higher monthly rent than it would costs to buy, which enables them to pay for their own house in a “nice” area. The housing benefit of East Lancs is propping up the property prices in East London. I think there should be a limit on the number of properties, and also countrywide rent control. The ability for someone to find a home should not be based on someone else’s desire to retire early, and have a nice car.

Anyway - not sure how this new scheme will support the Business model of many housing societies - the model is built in upfront investment, then rent revenue that clears the orginal cost, and provides a stream of income for new houses. The govt will need to financially ensure that this part works.

Also, this will require more houses to be built to replace the ones bought (which will keep the builders happy). The HA will need to apply to govt for a loan to cover the costs of the new builds (they do now, but this would need greater capital to be available), also, when was the last time you saw an application for social housing that wasn’t campaigned against ?

We should be allowing councils to build in their own right - without partnering with a HA. We need to build in the places people want to live.

near me you can get a really nice Victoria terrace, 3 beds, garden, for about £180k .. yet all the “help to buy” new builds are £60k more - bonkers

Just a note to the few posters who have said “I worked hard, got a degree and now pay double what my feckless neighbour does. Plus the comments about neighbour working part time or not working

I worked hard
I had a well paid job
I have a degree…I worked hard.

I am in social housing following a serious illness.
It happens.

Not all of us are here because we “didn’t try”.

In fact I don’t know anyone among my neighbours who hasn’t worked hard in life. They may not have high paying jobs but they work.

None of them are in a position to buy a house even with a discount. That includes me.

Although I wouldn’t buy on principle as my home should remain in the ownership of the HA and give someone else a home after me.

I'm in a HA too. I have a first-class BSc degree and a MA distinction. I worked hard too. I didn't forsee a disabled child..

They still can. HA on my street was bought. The builder husband did it up and they put it on the market at a huge price and got it.
It will have effectively made them a huge profit because of their discount.

Whether she plays the game to get another one is another matter.

Erm it never went away...

Wasnt Corbyn meant to be the one with throw back to the 70s policies but here Johnson with Thatchers greatest shits

It's a terrible idea - and one of the reasons we have a real housing problem as it is-- you end up with people playing the system too- and getting others buying it for them and then just flogging for a profit. My own personal view is if they brought 'anything' in like this - you pay 65% of the actual true value and if you sell within 10 years you only receive what you paid for it- plus any improvements (with receipts) any uplift goes into the local authorities coffers .

Catmummyof2 the right to aquire only gives a discount of around £16k on HA properties & usually there is only a small window when they are sold each year. I hate Boris & the Tories but making HA tenants equal to council in right to buy is the right thing, why should one have to pay more than the other, it will mean that there will be more social housing because for every one that is sold another one will have to be built & tenants won't choose council over HA because of right to buy.

My parents private rented from a landlady who owned 75% of properties within a 1 mile radius, when she died they bought it as sitting tenants as the properties were sold off to pay death duties, they paid £2k for a house worth £10k as they had been tenants for 15 years.

Yes, that is interesting. I can't say it makes me feel good about the future.

@remainiac, if a private renter wants to buy a house to live in they can, at any time. No one forces them to rent. No need to steal the LL house when there are so many similar on the market. If sold at market value, what would be the point or advantage? They would still need deposit and bank/building society would look at credit history, which is why many mortgages get refused. You just seem hell bent on punishing LL.

@MangyInseam quite. It's like the bat signal's gone out.

This is madness. Why should a landlord have to sell their property if they don’t want to? They just won’t rent them out if there’s a chance they could lose them. You would just get people sitting on empty properties waiting till they’re ready to sell, and everyone would be kicking out tenants before they became eligible to buy.

Well Im in a HA house .. and they are offering me a move as my house is worth around 750,000 so they can sell it

But you could get on the list and wait until a home becomes available, then you would have the security of a permanent home with reasonable rent. But you don't. How is that someone else's fault?

@hollyhead, My son has a friend only 32, who was diagnosed with cancer. He had insurance. It paid out £50k. He lives in very cheap housing area where you can buy a 2 bed terraced for £75-80k. They went straight to bank to try to get a mortgage. Turned down as too much money on credit cards and poor credit rating. He was wanting to pay £ 25k deposit on house for £80k. So not always just a case of having the deposit. He was told sort out your debts on credit cards, show regular savings and come back in 18 months. Money was all gone by then. He did pay large chunk off of both their credit cards though.

Tbf you have to be canny on the list. Just sitting there forever won't get you anywhere because there will always be people with higher priority if you don't have an emergency.

But .. getting yourself on the list and then getting yourself bumped up due to impending eviction, yes, that absolutely can work. There is movement, people leave, people die, even in London people get allocated council properties every day.

Are we also going to talk about the developers pulling down perfectly good and sturdy social housing and putting up luxury flats/houses up in their place or just carry on blaming the tenants as usual.

I dont agree with RTB and i live in a HA one bedroom flat. Mind you Im tempted because it looks like it could be the only way to keep the HAs incompetent contractors out of my home.

Didn't realise there was so much jealousy to people in social housing. I thought a mortgage was the holy grail of achievement. Yet they all seem really bitter and wish they had a social home.

Our HA matinence team are hideous. Generally now I pay for any repairs I need after a traumatic 18 months and thr ceiling caving in thanks to their contractors 🤬

Oh totes agree @FairyCakeWings Heres a thread about how social housing tenants have "hit the jackpot"

twitter.com/KwajoHousing/status/1520761299239837708?s=20&t=hfmwCv8gxCBJ_sh0hBUqmw