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Original poster

Jeremy Vine - people are morally obliged to downsize and free up property

668 replies

JoanThursday1972 · 14/04/2023 12:17

Currently have this on the radio. Suggestion is that people are not entitled to remain in and live in the house that they have bought and paid for. That they should downsize and free this up for more deserving occupants, ie families.

This is surely a personal choice and not an obligation? Anyone is entitled to live in a house they have bought, regardless of size.

OP posts:
Frabbits · 14/04/2023 13:20

MargotBamborough · 14/04/2023 13:18

I wonder how big Jeremy Vine's house is and whether he owns more than one.

A point which is, of course, completely irrelevant, unless you think that everyone who chairs a debate needs to have a lifestyle directly supporting what is being debated.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 14/04/2023 13:20

5128gap · 14/04/2023 13:03

Absolutely. And while we're at it, all young single people without children should give up their flats and move back in with their parents until they find a partner, freeing up homes for couples.
And all families with two same sex children should move to two bed houses, so those with children if both sexes can have the three bed places.
And everyone with a large garden should have all but a small lawn compulsorily purchased for development.
And everyone living in a large detached property should be made to move out so the house can be divided up into two semis at least, but preferably a HMO.

I take it (hope) this is sarcastic, but didn't a Labour government start making noises about forcing people with large gardens to have a house built in their garden? Thankfully there was a general election & they were voted out before it happened.

NalafromtheLionKing · 14/04/2023 13:20

PleaseJustText · 14/04/2023 12:50

It's not all boomers. I'm in my 30s and we are 2 people in a 3 bed house. We're planning to move to a 4 bed. No plans for children and definitely no plans to downsize. We'll have our bedroom, a spare room for guests/my office, his office and then a dressing room/ place to store things (like his bulky sports equipment). When we don't need offices any more we'll enjoy turning them into hobby rooms instead.

I did find a brilliant old 2 bed house that would have worked just as well but the seller withdrew. It was unusual because the living room, dining room and kitchen were all big enough to add storage without feeling cramped, unlike the majority of British houses with their piddly dining rooms that barely fit a table. Until houses start being built with bigger rooms I'll stick to a 4 bed thank you.

My DM had a house which was far (read ridiculously) too big for just her but couldn’t find anything suitable to downsize to.

As you say, if you cut down the number of bedrooms then the living space is also massively cut down in a lot of cases and, also, you proportionately pay a lot more for smaller houses.

proppy · 14/04/2023 13:20

I mean, alternatively, people could actually not have children that they can’t afford to house.

People aren't having dc though & one reason is high housing costs.

DuesExMachina · 14/04/2023 13:21

MargotBamborough · 14/04/2023 13:18

I wonder how big Jeremy Vine's house is and whether he owns more than one.

Do you know what his job is?

Porkandbeans1 · 14/04/2023 13:22

GreenwichOrTwicks · 14/04/2023 13:14

The problem is that this country houses are considered investments but don’t attract the tax of other investments so totally skewing the landscape.
Ridiculous to have one person living in a 4 bedroom house.
We should be taxing this type of situation much more heavily so that it incentivises people to move to an appropriate dwelling.

Why should we. Both me and DH already pay more tax than many. A home you live in isn't an investment. And I have better returns on the shares I own than my rental property.

Limboingnow · 14/04/2023 13:22

stealthninjamum · 14/04/2023 13:17

I’m not sure that it’s always about house size, I wanted to move house but dc have autism and so finding schools that suit them was the priority. It turns out both will be going to schools 30 miles from each other and we live in a large detached house, near the bus stops for both. So I probably look selfish in an unnecessarily big house but I could move to a flat and have neighbours complaining about dd2 noisy stimming and meltdowns. If only my council gave better funding to local schools! I am thinking about home schooling dd2 but then the space will be even more important.

So I think if specific areas had a greater diversity of housing that might help. I know older people who like their area as it’s walking distance of a shopping parade or near their neighbours/ friends but there are no smaller houses nearby to move to. Some people live in a nice community and I understand why they wouldn’t want to move away. There are emotional reasons for staying put as well as practical and financial ones.

Most newbuild housing is now tiny and terraced because people don't want to dig up more woods and farmland. It's going to make individuality much harder in future

midgemadgemodge · 14/04/2023 13:23

The problem is affordability
The problem is lack of homes

Hey - why don't councils build good quality homes that they rent out ( for life) at a fair rate ? Then no one would need to buy ? They could prepare a lot more sheltered accommodation also

Fund by huge hike in inheritance tax because once they are dead that's the time to sell their homes

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 14/04/2023 13:23

DuesExMachina · 14/04/2023 13:21

Do you know what his job is?

Show quote history

To wind up the public into such a tizzy that they start threads on Mumsnet that will be fodder for their producers for Mondays programme?🤷‍♀️

ImAvingOops · 14/04/2023 13:24

It's not the responsibility of ordinary people to fix the problems caused by the sale of council houses or failure to build new ones.

People with children are not important than people who don't have them. You could just as easily say that people shouldn't have kids that they cannot adequately house - it's not the job of private citizens to cover the consequences of other people's choices

LakieLady · 14/04/2023 13:24

Seasonofthewitch83 · 14/04/2023 12:55

I have found many older folk would be happy to downsize but they dont want to go into a flat, they would prefer a bungalow. They don't seem to be built anymore.

I think they don't build many bungalows because they need more land per dwelling, so not as profitable for developers who want to shoehorn in loads of houses.

And existing bungalows tend to be on larger than average plots, so are sought after by people who want to extend and "add value", then move on and do up another property.

Two of my BILs do this. One turned a 3-bed bungalow into a 5 bed house, the other one turned a 2-bed bungalow into a 5-bed, 4 bathroom house with an annexe.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 14/04/2023 13:24

One problem round my way is that housebuilders get planning permission for estates which include a certain % of 'affordable' homes (whatever that means these days). Then at a later stage this is declared uneconomical & fewer or no affordable houses are built.

Xiaoxiong · 14/04/2023 13:26

@GreenwichOrTwicks one would hope that energy prices would do this naturally, but clearly they're not yet expensive enough to factor into downsizing decisions (or the differential between heating larger and smaller properties is not significant enough to be an incentive).

Maybe there should be lower/minimal standing charges which affect all properties regardless of size. To make up for the loss of the standing charge there could be some kind of graduated rate so eg. the first 15000kWh of energy you use is charged at x, between 15 and 30 is charged at x+50%, between 30 and 45 is x+100% etc. And they work out the baseline amount as the average that a 3 bed with a family of 4 uses or something. I'll leave it to the boffins at think tanks to work out what would be most fair and feasible as of course there would be exceptions.

There was a thread on here last year sometime about a woman who lived alone in a 6 bed detatched house and was posting on here about struggling with massive increases in her energy bills, and getting angry at everyone telling her to downsize as she said that she wasn't prepared to do that and the government should offer more financial help to people like her with massive bills.

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 14/04/2023 13:26

midgemadgemodge · 14/04/2023 13:23

The problem is affordability
The problem is lack of homes

Hey - why don't councils build good quality homes that they rent out ( for life) at a fair rate ? Then no one would need to buy ? They could prepare a lot more sheltered accommodation also

Fund by huge hike in inheritance tax because once they are dead that's the time to sell their homes

Right to buy? That's killed of "social housing" or, Council housing as it used to be called.

KnickerlessParsons · 14/04/2023 13:26

We have a big house and our adult DCs have left home. We almost need an even bigger house now though for the weekends everyone comes to stay!

Blueisthecolour1 · 14/04/2023 13:26

But why should I, someone who’s worked their socks off all my life to buy my house - then sell it to go and live in a tiny house? I started off sleeping on a friend’s sofa and worked my way up from there. If I can do it, so can others. I deserve what I’ve got thanks. I’m not morally obliged to give it up after that hard graft.

TallulahBetty · 14/04/2023 13:27

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 14/04/2023 13:26

Right to buy? That's killed of "social housing" or, Council housing as it used to be called.

Show quote history

Social housing is not just council housing.

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 14/04/2023 13:27

BloodyHellKen · 14/04/2023 13:19

A bit unfair comparing Matthew Wright to JV 😂

Show quote history

Nah, I think I'm ok with that. Wink

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 14/04/2023 13:28

TallulahBetty · 14/04/2023 13:27

Social housing is not just council housing.

Show quote history

Not now, no.

Back in the day, it was.

You had to be interviewed in order to qualify for a council property.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 14/04/2023 13:28

@LakieLady A bungalow near me was demolished & three houses built cheek by jowl on the plot!

ClareBlue · 14/04/2023 13:29

Why is it always somebody else's fault for failure in government housing policy. They regulate provision of homes and collect our taxes to implement housing policies. If you've used your money that has been taxed to buy a house then you are under no moral obligation to make up for government failures.

KimberleyClark · 14/04/2023 13:30

kitsuneghost · 14/04/2023 12:19

If you can't afford a bigger house then don't have a bigger family
We are 2 in a 3 bed.
All 3 bedrooms get used, I would struggle to downsize

Same here.

TallulahBetty · 14/04/2023 13:30

I'd like to see RTB outlawed. It is a criminal practise that has killed the social housing sector.

LlynTegid · 14/04/2023 13:30

One step to help would be to reform the process of selling and buying homes in England and Wales, at least having the same process as Scotland would be an improvement.

Currently it is a charter for spivs and chancers.

Starchipenterprise · 14/04/2023 13:30

The term 'Boomer' is unacceptable - reporting this.

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