Why is housing in the U.K. so shit?

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

I don’t even mean your ‘built for another time’ Victorian houses, I mean ones built in the last 20 years (and continue to be built).

Counterintuitive layouts, more toilets than bedrooms, strange angles, no storage whatsoever. We’re house hunting and it’s driving me mental!

The conservatives inability to forward think , profit before commonsense

The only way you can get around that is to hang things from doors, ceiling, build shelving upwards with a small footprint. It’s annoying that we have to do this.

Because we have a small number of building companies delivering the majority of housing and doing it in such a way that their profit margins only get bigger.
It is not true that there is not enough land available for development. I live in the south east and there are over 9000 unbuilt permissions in my district alone . That's because developers drip new homes onto the market to maintain their margins, even while they squeal about the planning system preventing them from building what we need (which in this area is 2 bedroom flats, not 4 bedroom "executive" homes). The CMA has recognised the issue but no government will address it and risk pissing off a key donor.

We could learn a lot from the Germans. They do very good 3 or 4 story apartment blocks, with decent sized rooms, communal gardens, excellent insulation. I would never buy a new build in this country. Shame that help to buy schemes only allow purchase of new houses, but that's just another way for the government to funnel money to their builder mates (and Labour will do this even more, which is incredibly disappointing).

I'm in a flat and there's two bathrooms but no storage cupboard or built in wardrobe. I'd rather have a cupboard for the hoover/ironing board/coats/shoes etc than a bathroom each!

I asked my five year old whether he was excited to visit his grandparents in England this summer. He said no, he didn't like England as people were forced to live in such tiny cramped houses. My parents don't even live in one of the tiny new builds, instead living in a standard 1930s semi-detached. It's one other thing that puts me off ever moving back.

@Turefu DS and I lived in a flat for a year and I nearly went insane. No garden, no outside space, no green, no sunshine. I got depressed. I felt like I was suffocating. I grew up in the country and living in a flat really isn't for me.

To say nothing of problems with parking and bins and communal areas and ds' buggy. Hopefully I won't need to do it again.

In any case, council housing was being sold off well before Thatcher. My dd bought an ex council - the former owners had lived there for 60 years and had bought it in 1971 - as we found out after dh had a good old nose on nethouseprices. They paid £3100, almost exactly 1% of what dd paid about 7 years ago.

I believe that part of the problem is that we are sold properties on the basis of the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Everywhere else I have ever looked at property works on square footage. Using square footage would reduce the need for developers to squeeze as many rooms as possible into the space so a tiny two bed would be worth the same as a large one bed property and be cheaper for them to build (less walls).

Whenever workmen come to my house they praise it because “it’s solid”

It’s a victorian terrace - in a place where hundreds of rows of identical houses were built for factory workers. I’ve got 4 storage cupboards, an ok size bathroom, kitchen I can move about it and 2 good size bedrooms. My garden is small but not as small as my friend who lives in a 4 bed house.
I’d love a new build but then see how cramped they feel and think naaaah

As a silly fucker who bought one, I completely agree. I would never ever buy one next time. Narrow as anything, keep bashing my elbows and knees on walls, shower turny thing, door handles. The kids could take a decent scooter ride down the hallway but that's about the only thing it has going for it. Not even any built in storage for them to play hide and seek in either! 😉

Agree. Some countries you aren’t allowed to count the kitchen as living space.

We don't have tonnes of land for the population so land is expensive, also not enough quality control. I agree new housing is rubbish.

We have plenty of land. If you went up in a plane you would see that. I think about 95 or more percent of land has not been built on. People just land bank to make money. It's our planning/land owning policies that are the problem.

We also don't build new towns, just wedge shit flats into random space in cities with no infrastructure, that families don't really want or need. We don't build family homes anymore, either flats or large 4 bed homes.

Yes.
As do Czech ones.
Waah. 😩

Period houses are second to none. Why are you looking at new houses?

I would happily live in a flat the problem is the dreadful
leasehold system in England

I visited a friend who was doing airbnb for a few days in a modern 4 double fronted kind of terrace on a corner plot - only 2 floors though

I was shocked at how flimsy it felt inside - nothing felt solid or quality and although only about 8 years old, the outside was all peeling and shabby and the bedrooms- well 3 bedrooms had a double bed admittedly and 1 single but that's all you could get in the room apart from a chest of drawers. No utility, no storeage anywhere it seemed Lounge was absolutely poxy , can't have been more than about 10ft x 12,ft max and kitchen an ok size , maybe 15 x 9 ft - but not enormous - strangely big hallway in middle - kitchen to left, lounge to right. Just a totally lousy layout

I have however been in a very nice 4 bed detached new build - well planned with shortage and built ins in 3 bedrooms plus utility and a bonus downstairs room that could be office/playroom/dining room

The layout and quality are so variable- I don't think you can dismiss all new builds- but yes, some are shocking!

We have a fairly new house (15 years) and it's very well built and designed, plenty of space for storage etc but it's 3 floors, ideal for older kids but not for younger ones. They do exist but not cheap, ours is to higher eco standards as a demonstration project we were told by solicitor.

But I disagree about bathrooms we have a full bathroom plus en-suite and downstairs loo, the minimum I would consider for a house sleeping 4-6 people

Most European houses have. UK flats, and houses, really lack storage and people have to use their garage if they have one.

Too much nervousness about service charges, cladding, leases.

This. People want a freehold so would rather have a pokey 2 bed right on the street than a spacious 3 bed flat. I look at flats on rightmove quite a lot because we will be downsizing in a couple of years, then I panic about dodgy leases and astronomical service charges and end up looking at houses.

We could do with a ton of investment in brownfield sites in towns to make desirable, family friendly flats that you could actually raise your kids in without tripping over your stuff.

You should see the new builds in Finland, they are just chefs kiss

My grandparents lived in a flat in Switzerland. 2 flats per floor and in the corridor in between the flats was a huge lockable cupboard for storage. They had attic and cellar space, as pp's have said. And those spaces were a good size in that you could go in and walk around. So while the flat itself didn't have huge amounts of storage, it was fine. It used to feel like a bit of an adventure when my grandmother would send me to fetch something!

I think one of the problems here with that concept is that people would just break in and take things. That's the sad reality. So anything you stored would have to be stuff you weren't too fussed about losing if it came to it. Plus it would probably cost more to insure things kept in communal areas.

It’s also the planning regs. I live in a bungalow built on a brownfield site in the countryside. It was a one off build and had to be on the same footprint and the wooden building it replaced. If it could have been a bit wider in places it would have been great. The layout is just wrong and there’s no storage and not enough toilets!
im putting storage in but can’t do much about the layout or toilets without rebuilding the inside.

We rent a 1930s bungalow and there is zero storage in the bedrooms also

Its also trend driven our house is relatively recent but of a time where multiple small rooms were better than open plan. We will be opening it up. With new builds the instagram trend is for dressing rooms hence the tiny 4th/5th/6th bedroom it is meant to be a dressing room.

I would never buy a house without a garden so flats are out for us.