Right to Buy.

[Differentforgirls]

Was “Right to Buy” a policy that has created the current housing crisis? I think it was.

It will descend into tenant bashing. These threads always do.

My mum is in a council house and had the option to buy years ago, but she didn't as she did not think it right. Is too late now anyway.

Also, here is the very crucial piece of data that is missing from this thread. Again, the Right to Buy policy’s part in the housing crisis is just one aspect (given, a big aspect) of a very large and multifaceted issue.

I do think if a person was fortunate enough to use the rtb scheme and got a huge discount on purchase price if they ever sell within 10 years they should reimburse the council half of any profit made.

Just going through the right to acquire process myself. Wasn’t going to buy this house but I’ve changed my mind.

No its not, I'm in the building trade, in my apprentice days I worked on a few post R2B social developments - two or three years later and tenants were exercising their right to buy and the stock was being decimated - it also made maintenance more difficult - I don't think our council or HA have built much for a couple of decades.

Here we go...

@DeftWasp try more than three decades. Councils have barely been building any housing for over three decades. See graph above - 21:28.

The second comment is utter nonsense. What incentive would there be to improve your lot if you lose your secure tenancy, a tenancy that you're paying for, to house a family on UC?

@TheOnlyAletheia 👏 yep. Temporary accommodation costs are literally crippling and bankrupting local authorities.

If the tenants moved out they'd be homeless so yes, they need to be there.

No - I think it was a bad policy but immigration has caused the housing crisis. If you increase the population if you increase the population by more than 10% in a short period of time, you don't particularly need a brain to release that there aren't enough houses to go round. This compounded with more broken families as society has collapsed compounding the need for more housing.

@Dragonflytamer 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Really.

Immigration has not caused the housing crisis. The housing crisis is a crisis of affordability NOT supply. Read my previous comments before continuing to spout this nonsense.

You followed the rules and took advantage of them. Most would do the same.

But the fact is that in your family, 3 houses were sold off at a discount and have enriched your family. That is 3 houses the council now no longer owns. 3 families with children who can no longer be housed in affordable accommodation.

Its a crackpot policy and should never have been introduced.

Ha ha. You're clearly of the let as many people into the country and give them magic houses brigade.

Please don't "demand" I read your posts before I post again. That is not how internet forums work. Especially if when you appear to fail to understand that the basic economics of price correlation within demand.

RTB did nothing to cause a housing shortage. All of those houses still have people living in them.

@Dragonflytamer nice tag… you clearly must know how internet forums work, eh?

In spite of having more than half a brain - allegedly - you clearly fail to understand absolutely anything about this topic at all and have settled for the most very basic of crab mentality.

Again, the housing crisis in the UK has nothing to do with immigrants. It has been a working of decades. Again, it is a crisis of affordability, not supply (it being a crisis of supply was first labelled by the Barker Review with political strategy reason for that).

PS it was optional, you could have chosen to not spout nonsense instead.

Thank you.

Yes but they aren’t available for council house tenants!

immigration has caused the housing crisis.

I’d love it if you can find some evidence for that. What’s caused the current situation - it isn’t a crisis - is a combination of house price inflation, foreign investment, right to buy and buy to let. The 1 million properties sitting empty isn’t helping either.

Two are still occupied by the original tenants, but as owners. If they were still tenants they wouldn't have been asked to move so only 1 of the 3 homes would be available for another family to rent.

The issue wasn't RTB, it was preventing authorities from rebuilding with the proceeds from RTB.

Yes I know that
but that’s not my problem - what I did was perfectly legal and allowed at the time
so did thousands of others

I don’t feel any guilt at buying my house

it’s not my fault that I was able to buy at a huge discount and someone else can’t

my parents bought there house for I think 22k
And when I sold it after they passed it went for just over 350k a few years ago

all the people that I know that bought their council house are still living in them

You honestly think they would have rented for their entire life instead of buying a property elsewhere?

Here you go. Economic Affairs select committee. It was advised 20 years ago that increasing net immigration would decrease house affordability. Surprise surpise it happened.

House of Lords - Economic Affairs - First Report

"Immigration is one of many factors contributing to more demand for housing and higher house prices. We note the forecasts that, if current rates of net immigration persist, 20 years hence house prices would be over 10% higher than what they would be if there were zero net immigration. Housing matters alone should not dictate immigration policy but they should be an important consideration when assessing the economic impacts of immigration on the resident population in the UK."

A pretty accurate forecast for what happened only immigration rates increased dramatically over 2007 levels so the impact on house prices was greater.

It's hardly rocket science.

The problem for many Brits is that the higher earning immigrants can out compete them for housing. Then they expect the council just to fix it for them, like they do in every other area of their life.

The problem isn't that a some people were allowed to buy their council house. Lets face if they haven't been allowed to buy it they would still be living it today. People don't move out of lifetime tenancies very often.

Yep. Two of DF's siblings did/do. DF's NDN has rented their property (paying full rent) since the early 70s.

Yes I know that as a family overall we have done incredibly well through the RTB

there is absolutely no way my son would have ever been able to buy a house without getting the deposit from my late parents sale of their house

It’s was a huge mistake.

I know someone who got a big discount then sold for loads more a few years later.