Right to buy. What about everyone else?

[BrownieBanana]

AIBU to think that it's all well and good to bring in new policy that allows better saving for RTB for council tenants, but that it doesn't help people who REALLY need help? If you're in a council property it is still vastly cheaper than private rent (over 50/60% where I live). What about the millions of young people living with their parents into their early and mid 30s who can't afford rent (this is me), can't get a mortgage as a single person even on an OK salary. Am I missing the mark here? I'm not saying everyone in a council property has it easy, if course not, however I don't think it's the right way to deal with the housing crisis at all....

And agree, private renters are forgotten. They pay astronomical amounts for rent but can’t get a deposit together for a mortgage. It’s dumb.

That was the plan when RTB for council houses was introduced by Maggie Thatcher when she was PM. What happened though was councils were told that they could not build more to replace those sold and many councils scrapped the scheme. Boris' scheme is aimed at HA which are not owned by councils.

YABU because you've missed the point.

Right to buy is horrendously bad for everyone except the small number of people who happen to make a gain on their RTB property.

It reduces the volume of affordable, well maintained rentals in the market. It converts public assets into private wealth. It robs councils of the future revenues that property would bring (which exceed the RtB sale price).

The 'Help to Buy' scheme aimed at FTBs was similarly bad though. All it did was push additional profit into the pockets of householders who were selling eligible properties. It didn't actually help FTBs, because it drove prices up.

Housebuilders, not householders!

Yes, this makes sense. Thanks.

But I can’t imagine somebody falling apart over money it’s just fucking ridiculous.

Wow.

You need to take a long hard look at yourself.

The aim is to reduce the housing benefit bill, if you’re not getting housing benefit then it’s not aimed at you it’s that simple.

The answer for private renters I guess is to load up your pension, grow assets you can access.

Stocks, shares, ISA’s.

if there’s a blip in the system and prices do drop then you have to be in a position to swoop, keep your credit nose clean and have to savings at the ready.

And I guess stay at home as long as possible and change your mindset about it my uncle stayed at home until he was 36 in the 90s nobody battered an eyelid it’s just how it was.

RTB is terrible and always was but this is a joke to boot. The average benefit recipient won’t be able to save £16k for a deposit. This is just a dead cat to keep Johnson going for another couple of days.

This has to got be one of the most stupidest posts I’ve ever seen on mumsnet especially given the current climate. Get your head out of arse.

Have a look at what exactly ?
i’ve been on my arse with children and no money to pay for anything and I’ve been in a phenomenal position of having a few grand a month disposable income neither of which affected my happiness or desire to top myself.

you honestly need to change your mindset if money has that much control over your life.

and that’s not commenting on clinical depression which can strike whether you’re driving a Mercedes or a pushbike.

Feel sorry for your kids to be honest

It’s totally unworkable. Why are we giving tens of thousands of pounds to people who are already securely housed so they can buy an asset that we desperately need? While there are massive housing lists? It makes no sense.

We need more council housing, not to sell off the ones they've got ffs.

Do you indeed ? My kids aren’t twats that would go around feeling sorry for themselves if they had to live at home for a few more years than they would like to they’ve got a bit more substance than that.

I meant more because you're their mother...

I’m not sure they have consulted the banks and building societies about this new bright idea of theirs
I would imagine the organisations actually lending money might take a different view

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Bring in Right to buy for Private renters ,?

Frankly OP, what this policy is about is protecting people in the event that they lose their jobs and making the housing market fairer.

During the pandemic the government imposed this bloody awful shut down which treated people in certain professions like second class citizens and others like bloody gods.

We saved for a bigger house for eight years and* *were about to buy just as the pandemic hit.

If my husband had lost his job we would have had to use everything we had worked for to pay for day to day living costs as he wouldn’t have been entitled to universal credit. Despite paying his tax and (NI) and always working really hard.

We were really lucky and he didn’t lose his job but until this point have felt utterly sick thinking we could lose it all as his industry remains precarious. A lot of people did lose everything, all their savings, hard work and dreams gone.

This policy is absolutely the right thing to do to protect people’s savings and not punish them for saving for a house. And to put public money into the hands of every day people and not fund the retirement of fat cat landlords.

After watching the glorified key workers be fawned over the entire pandemic, buggering up the entire housing market for their home offices I’ve had enough.

We are having to wait until the market falls. But at least now our money is safe.

That would never be a Tory policy in a million years and would be totally unworkable under any government. The key word in private renting is “private” i.e. the house is owned by an independent person who can buy/sell it as they wish. A RTB policy which by design sells houses well under market value would leave owners of these houses totally out of pocket and likely unable to have enough to repay the mortgage depending on existing equity. The only solution would be having the government pay the difference but this would cost a bloody fortune and there would be no political appetite for it

This is just a way to keep private rents high .I don't agree with it one bit and I say it as a reluctant landlord.Tried to sell -(good place for a ftb/couple), no buyers ,as the cost doesn't bear any relation to local average earnings .
Some sort of government guarantee scheme needs to be brought in so that people can buy in stages like help to buy but for any property not just new ones .

This. I’m a leaseholder in a council block and get treated like sh!t in comparison to the tenants over issues that are the council’s responsibility as the freeholder. Leaky kitchen going on 3 years.

But do you really think that most people who are in council housing are able to go without their whole housing benefit for years and years in order to put it towards a mortgage?

I was a private renter for over 20 years (10 years plus in the same house). 20 years ago, I'd view a property, do the paperwork and put a deposit down.

I settled in to my last rented property and was there for over 10 years. My son completed his primary and secondary education at the local schools, my daughter spent 3 years at the same primary.

Rental prices went crazy, due to people not being able to get on the property ladder and BTL's.

My Landlord decided overnight that we should be evicted so that he could install central heating and double glazing (neither of which we'd had for 10 years - freezing house!) He then increased the price by £350 per month - we were given the option to stay at that price but... Almost 80% increase on rent. Not affordable.

A year homeless, in and out if where the council put us.

I have a lovely home now (council) would I buy it? Fuck no! The house is literally cracking with subsidence. Everything installed is cosmetically okay, but badly finished and I'd dread to look underneath.
We have concrete gutters that we cannot sit under as they are a crumbling danger. The windows do not open...

So... Whilst it might seem that we are getting a good deal, I imagine many houses throughout the country would be worse than mine

And that it is cheaper for the govt to let people think they are getting a deal than to repair all the 1950s properties built and not maintained.

My experience anyway.