Housing crisis ? What housing crisis ?

[SerendipityJane]

Thank goodness no property developers lost money.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjn0ed8vj1o

They don't want people living in the countryside. I follow a youtube channel that discovers abandoned properties all throughout Wales and Northern England and there are hundreds of properties sitting vacant. Usually a case of the owner dies and they either don't have family or the family live away or are estranged. The properties usually need updating or full renovation and nobody is interested. They could easily be given away or sold cheaply, but it doesn't seem to happen. Many still have an electricity supply.

What’s the channel? That sounds really interesting.

Thus proving if there is a "housing crisis" it's not lack of houses.

There are hundreds of thousands of empty properties. Long term empty. Some owned by councils...
But we are losing green belts🤷

There’s lots of cheap houses.
just not in the south east.

the north east has loads.

The housing crisis is entirely manufactured in this country.

There are around 1 million empty houses the UK - more than the number of homeless people.

There are any reasons why this won't he addressed.

*many

It’s not just about having enough houses, it’s about having houses in places people want to live, with good transport links, amenities, facilities, and schools.

I think your OP is a little disingenuous.
Just because a house is empty doesn't mean that it can be put into circulation.
Many empty houses are owned by people who have no intention of selling them.
It is well known that houses sit empty and unused, there used to be huge squatter movement in London that repossessed them.

So what do you do?
Forcibly repossess any house which has been empty longer than 1 year? 3 years?
What if the owner has had it on the market trying to sell. Should they lose the value of the house?
Should we forcibly buy any empty houses? With what money?

Honestly sounds like a police state to say that if you leave the house empty the government will take it.

Do we fine people for owning an empty house? What does that mean if the owners can't pay a fine?

And as always, the houses that sit empty because they are owned by rich investment banks/people won't mind about paying a fine, because somehow the rich never seem to pay for anything.

It’s the sort of channel I’d spend 18 hours a day watching!

I do find things like this interesting though.
So, there are about 10 houses there, (may be more, was looking for front doors)
Good sized ones too.
The question is, if the council took it or was given it, and then placed 10 families in it, they would have to make sure there was a road and a bus route.

In the big scheme of things, how much would a road and a bus route cost, compared to the cost of housing those families elsewhere?
I presume the families woudl pay rent too, so there would be income.

I do often think that we are unable to look at the big picture because themoney comes from 2 different purses.

You eitehr accept there is a housing crisis.

Or you don't.

The public believe - rightly or wrongly - there is a housing crisis. Whilst successive governments do not.

And as always in all things what I may or may not think makes fuck all difference. As indeed is has done all my life.

The BBC article is largely guff - this is an attempt at a new build development which has stalled due to money issues.

https://nationaldailypress.com/2025/03/1-2billion-new-eco-village-still-has-no-schools-or-gp-16-years-since-work-began/

It's not so much lack of houses, it's affordable houses & affordable rents that's the problem.

Is affordability an issue in Neath? Quite a few properties for sale below £100K on Rightmove.

But of course there’s a housing crisis. Just because there are empty houses, doesn’t make them suitable for living in.

Mortgages are difficult to get without good deposits, rents are high.

Empty houses are often derelict. Properties are left to go to ruin purposefully by owners in the hope they will be able to demolish and build more profitable homes on them.
You could renovate the ones above and put 10 young couples in them but then people will moan when they invariably claim benefits as they cannot get to the available jobs due to living remotely.
Council housing was sold off, rents are extortionate.

@steppemum Annual property tax would help 'nudge' people into downsizing into more appropriate sized accommodation and would also help developers who are holding housing as an ever appreciating asset to sell.

Double/triple council tax on empty properties would also work.

If your house isn't selling - reduce the price.

But of course there’s a housing crisis.

Is there ?

Not from where successive government have been sitting.

Yes if you are unable to get a mortgage or low earner.

There is a housing crisis. 10 empty, uninhabitable houses in a bog doesn’t disprove that.

increase council tax exponentially. So 6 months free. Then 50% for the next six months. Then 100% for the next year. Then 200% for the next year, until it either becomes more expensive to keep it empty than to just sell it at a loss, or they are paying so much in council tax the money goes towards improving services for local residents anyway.

The "crisis" is that the empty houses are in the wrong place due to decades of London Centric governments and the regions being starved of investment/growth.

Who is the mysterious 'they', who don't want people living in the countryside? 🤔

Natterjack toads, is it?

It's Adam Mark Explores. He sometimes does paranormal stuff, which I'm not personally interested in, but the houses he finds are amazing. Full of things from previous owners.