To think rich people shouldn’t be allowed to buy multiple houses when others can’t afford one?

[YourTealBalonz]

I know people say “it’s their money” but I genuinely think the housing crisis is made worse by second-home buyers and landlords snapping up properties just to sit on them. It drives up prices and freezes people out of the market. I’m glad council tax rules are starting to push back on this. AIBU to think second home ownership should be discouraged more openly?

100% agree with you @YourTealBalonz but some people on here won't. 🙄

There is significant additional taxation on owning more than one home.

if it is let out there is income tax on the income from it. In addition when it is sold capital gains tax is levied on the increase in the price.

if it isn’t let out then councils from last April have been able to charge double council tax on second homes and when sold capital gains tax applies to any increase in value.

OP I am assuming you want to stop people from owning more than house not just rich people? The financial circumstances of someone owning 2 flats in Middlesbrough is different to simeone owning 2 houses in Belgravia.

Should we apply this policy to other things. Only one car per owned property and you have to have a garage or if not rent a garage?

But the OP (and lots of others) dont make the distinction between those two scenarios. The blanket statement "no one should own more than one property" ...which was what prompted my question....because im never sure what the alternative is for people who need short term (non holiday) accomodation

Oh….i didn’t know the need for people to have a roof over their head was “a commie take.”.

I thought it was something any decent t society would prioritise but clearly not.

Of course it contributes to the housing crisis if a household that was taking up one house is now taking up two houses. Less of an issue if it's two one bed flats, but often it is 2 x 3 bed houses so children have their own rooms at each parents house. Personally i don't care how any houses people have, but it seems a bit rich to want to have one rule for some and another rule for others, that was my point.

Personally I think what is really needed is a lot more rented social housing. There are always going to be people who will never be able to afford to buy a house or maybe don't want to. When I was a child I knew loads of kids who lived in council houses. My family owned ours (with a mortgage) as did many of my friends, but plenty didn't and their houses were not much different to ours. Then came the right to buy and of course those houses were privately bought and lost to future families who needed them. The money from the sales should have been used to build replacements and if it had been perhaps we wouldn't be in such a mess now. But that ship has long sailed so I am not sure what the answer is.

There are plenty of properties available if you are self funding. If not you can't be choosy.

The housing crisis stems from too many not paying the going rate that others have to pay.

People who aren’t on benefits probably

Well yes, I was self funding. I would still be waiting now if I had applied for social housing (and this was nearly 20 years ago).

I am not sure how people not paying the going rate contributes to the housing crisis means. Can you explain more?
It is literally down to too many people and not enough dwellings.

Housing shouldn't be empty.

There is a difference between an occasionally used holiday home and a second property rented out (if properly maintained and managed).

Would you also ban owning a home larger than you need? (eg a four bed if you need two)

If not, what’s the principled difference between that and banning second homes? Both waste housing stock.

I agree too many people but there is enough property just too many people (not you) want discounted or affordable housing.

@Dolly34I completely agree. We have a massive overpopulation crisis and I’m sick of people saying we have land. That’s not public land ffs.

I think it's fine if people can afford to purchase a second home outright, which can then be rented out. I think buy to let mortgages should be banned though - that just ends up with people not able to get their own mortgage being forced to pay even more to pay someone else's mortgage off for them.

Well I don't know about 'shouldn't'. I do think there should be absolutely huge taxes on second homes though, 4 or 5x council tax .

No, because if someone wants more bedrooms than they need, and they can afford that, then they should have that choice.
A lot of people work from home now, and a sperate room to use an office is idea for a lot of people. My DP lives in a 2 bed, and has a home office. It is vital he can shut the door on his work space when he is finished. Otherwise you are living in your workplace.
I am under occupying, but no one is paying for that for me. I need a craft room

In some European cities with acute housing shortages it is a violation of local housing regulations to leave a property empty for over three months (very specific exceptions for property being renovated, actively for sale or subject to inheritance disputes). Fines can be hundreds of thousands of €.

Aren't there houses/ luxury flats in London bought by investors and never lived in (including never being rented out)? I don't think there are by-laws anywhere in the UK preventing property just being left empty as an investment or because owners are rich enough to have as many holiday homes as other people have jumpers...

I don't think rental property is necessarily a problem - some people will always need to rent, though regulations are necessary of course. There are something like a million empty homes in the UK overall though.

That is in place. You pay Capital Gains Tax on any profit you make when you sell other than a primary residence. You can't claim tax relief on the mortgage of a BTL. You pay tax on any income you make from a second house. If it's unoccupied you pay escalating council tax (where I live, it's doubled after a year and keeps rising). And if it's a big place, you'll be paying mansion tax soon.

Trouble is, none of those taxes matter much to overseas buyers who are buying for investment purposes.

In Amsterdam, it's almost impossible to buy a property if you're not Dutch, precisely because they want homes to be used, not left empty just appreciating in value.

but like with hs2 the govt just buys the land if its needed ?

I don't understand what the last sentence is hinting at? How is a housing crisis created by people not paying the going rate? Do you literally mean that if the market rent for a a one bed flat is £1000 a month a housing crisis is created by people finding a rental for £800... surely that makes no sense? Or do you mean you think people ask to join council waiting lists because they don't want to pay market rent? They'd just get sent on their way - how would that cause a housing crisis?

In Amsterdam, it's almost impossible to buy a property if you're not Dutch

This is not true.

Mr Dibble and Mrs Nibble (no relation) decide to buy a couple of houses each in an up and coming village. They buy them and rent them out. With that money, they each buy another house each, and then keep going until they own 40 houses each. Because they own so many houses, they basically get to decide on the ‘market rent’, whilst competing essentially only with each other. As a result, the property prices rocket and the only people who can afford to buy in the village are… Mr Dibble and Mrs Nibble. Because the rents are so high, having been set by the landlords themselves, the villagers have no additional funds to save so are never going to be able to buy properties, even outside of the village. The landlords continue to buy up all the properties and the villagers get poorer. The distribution of wealth becomes more uneven.

A bit simplistic maybe, but owing multiple properties does absolutely have a knock-on effect on other people being able to afford housing.

I used to own a property in Amsterdam and live in London, not sure where you’re getting this idea from?

I agree of course, but I’m guessing you also wouldn’t ban second homes.

I don’t think banning is desirable or very useful.

Abolish stamp duty though: at the very least the govt should stop penalising people from up- or down-sizing to what they actually need.