To wonder why the government isn’t building more flats?

[Clawdya]

I was in Europe last week and apartment living is completely normal and desirable. Blocks are warm, well-insulated and comfortable, cheaper to run and heat, use up less green space. We have a dire housing shortage.

Why aren’t more blocks of flats being built for social housing?

Not all are shitty
I live in a block of 4. Have patio doors out into my own private garden. 2 bed, 2 bath, 75sqm
solid and no noise

Glad someone else posted with a Scottish perspective!

No agree they aren’t always affordable @BoredZelda, I guess the point I was trying to make is that a lot of my London friends look down their noses at me living in a flat - even though it’s a lovely, period property that’s bigger and worth more than a lot of their houses. And it’s in a lovely area.

This thread has shown that too - there’s a lot of snobbery around flats.

We could save space and build nice family sized flats close to amenities (transport links, parks, shops schools, jobs etc) but a lot of people in the UK just wouldn’t consider a flat regardless.

I’m not saying it’s right or wrong - up to everyone what you prefer, a flat works for me as I like living centrally and wouldn’t want to live somewhere that suburban or rural. But realise that others have v different priorities and that’s fine too! I guess there’s just not much demand for family flats as they aren’t seen as desirable and/or don’t fit with what a lot of people are looking for.

There are new flats built in Woking wanting £4k a month rent!!

Or converting existing buildings.

I think if the flat is right, then they are valid options. I live in an old house, which was great while the kids were growing up. A large garden to house a few trampolines/ paddling pool etc and plenty of green space nearby.

Fast forward 10 years and DP and I are not in good health. The garden is tedious to maintain now and cleaning the place, takes an age and a day.

Living in a smaller property ( maybe a flat) feels like a dream. Within walking distance to amenities etc. Flats definitely have a place. I lived in mid terrace for a few years and the neighbours were very noisy! That is one thing which puts me off living in a flat and keeps me here. It’s all swings and roundabouts. DP has a lot of “ stuff” and we need storage space. I’m a minimalist and could house my possessions in a suitcase!

No way?? 4K? Bloody hell! 😱

My experience is that the attitude in the UK (and particularly England) is quite snobbish about flats

Is it really 🙄 I’m willing to bet far more people per 100,000 live in flats in England versus Scotland and Wales.

I don’t think I’d pay £4k a month to live in Woking regardless of the type of property!

I don’t know Woking, but 4K, bloody hell!

Flats are everywhere where I am and all that are being built it seems.
however I have lived in a flat and hated it, was like a prison especially in the summer. Each to their own though.

Do you live in tower block - yes the views are great but what’s not so great is the 100 other people who share the building, who share their music, their rows and their sex noises. Nor is it great when the lift breaks and you have trudge up and down 12 flights of stairs .

also despite new builds being touted as “affordable “ they are if you have income if £300k a a year or have £10k deposit so you can pay the £4k rent a month

The government aren't building anything at the moment however they have just removed an obstacle with stopping 'Right to Buy' on new council properties.
There wasn't any point in building new council houses or flats to then sell them at a loss.
Fingers crossed this makes a difference and encourages house or flat building.

We live in a flat and i prefer it.

It's in a block of 6 on a development built in the early 00s so not massively new but modern. All rooms are separate e.g. not one massive space for kitchen/dining/lounge like some flats. We also have 2 bathrooms.

We are constantly being told by my In-Laws that we must have a house with a garden for our kids but for us that's not ideal or what we want. Neither of us like gardening and have no want for the upkeep of one. We love tjat everuthing is on one level and easily accessible and we can enjoy the outside on our balcony.

As for kids needing a garden. Kids dont need a garden. Opposite our flat is massive field and the development we live on is surrounded by woodland with public footpaths to enjoy.

The only thing I would change is making the kitching slightly bigger so we could fit an American style fridge.

For families like ours where no one is really home all day, My husband works away a lot and we like to get out during the day, flats are perfect.

Yes there are management fees but ours includes the wage of a caretaker who constantly maintains communal areas, gardening out the front and our residents gym (also included) and monthly window cleaning. The communal costs we pay, we'd have to pay anyway in a house for those services (gardening, window cleaning, external gym membership)

Because we've got the crappy leasehold system here in England and that makes buying a flat more undesirable. I've lived in my flat for nearly 20 years and I've loved it - it was built after the war, a small block of 4 flats, 2 still council tenants, 2 private, we've each got our own private pretty big gardens. However if you own your own property the management company dictate who does repairs and when. Always end up paying more than if you are a freehold. I'm hoping to move in 2 years so I can have more freedom. It's a shame as I agree, flats are great.

I had a new build flat starting out. Was terrible. Decent bedroom size but tiny open plan living/kitchen/dining room. Was awful when we had first child. No space for toys etc. No storage space. It was well insulated which meant it was absolutely boiling in the summer. No garden. Service charge that doubled from year 1 and year 2 and kept increasing way way way above inflation.

We recently bought a postwar flat by a ‘famous’ architect-developer and the specification is much higher than you would get from a new build, despite a lower price tag. We are far better accommodated than if we had bought a similarly-sized house. We have a separate utility/clothes drying room, a garage, balcony, large entrance hall, the kitchen will fit a small breakfast table, the living -dining room is generous and there are communal gardens that are much larger than would be acceptable to a modern developer given the high land values. We do have service fees for the upkeep, but they cover buildings insurance so are comparable to that cost - and we have a share in the freehold, so it’s not an anonymous leasehold. I don’t think I’d have moved here if it wasn’t for the freehold, despite all the advantages.

I’m guessing Span or Chamberlin Powell and Bon, or similar @ElleDeeCB? Dreamy flats, often with lovely communal spaces and gardens and big windows. Often very desirable! We looked at a couple of Span flats when we were looking to buy and they are gorgeous.

We have stayed in some fantastic flats in Europe and the US. I don't think they build them like that here.

The rooms were massive and there was plenty of space. In our area detached houses are being demolished and blocks of flats put up in their place. Often well over a dozen flats claiming to have a choice of one, two and three bedrooms all on the space previously occupied by just one house, admittedly with large gardens front and back. I haven't been inside them but it seems impossible that these blocks can offer the sort of size of rooms we found abroad. Then there is the fact that a site which once probably only had a family of four or five will now be housing dozens of people putting pressure on local services like GP's and schools. There certainly doesn't seem to be any increase in those services to account for the extra people. The roads are permanently rammed and there are so many roadworks some of which are related to all this building that is going on.

Because building here flats or houses is all about getting as much for as small space as possible. There are lots of blocks going up locally. Even in the city centre.

But for me to move to a flat, I’d want dedicated parking, three large bedrooms with big windows, proper sized kitchen, dining and livingroom, storage, proper Landry space, a proper balcony not one of those 1 table two chairs squished, a proper the side of my flat type balcony so I can sit and grow some plants and enjoy the space. A communal roof terrace, a working lift. Add in a green area on the ground floor with benches and play area.

I have seen plans submitted for a type of professional apartment block, so it’s only for single or couples no children, gym, movie theatre, community room, roof terrace and bar door man. Which I think is a great idea a step above a hmo.

I think all ground floor flats should be fully disability friendly as well with their own little gardens like the large balconies.

Because professional people don’t want to live with social housing tenents. But in housing estates developers can usually arrange things so that social housing can be seperated from premium housing. But you can’t do that properly in a (non-high end) flat.

Because professional people don’t want to live with social housing tenents. But in housing estates developers can usually arrange things so that social housing can be seperated from premium housing. But you can’t do that properly in a (non-high end) flat.

Erm, you can be a professional in social housing. Or have you bought into the myth that all social housing tenants are unemployed?

What?? We have a divide between professionals and SH tenants ( who more than likely work!)!

I prefer living in a flat because it's easier to heat.

I did feel that my LA discriminated against me when I last lived in one in the UK though. We used to get one pack of bin bags delivered for the whole house, which was split into three flats so we didn't receive a pack for each household. Also, the drop to once every two weeks for rubbish collection unfairly affected those of us in flats with no outside space for bins.

The leasehold system is another problem.

Yes, there can be noise, but that's an issue in terraced and semi-detached houses as well.