To think this is a ticking time bomb (people priced out of housing)

[Batmanisreal]

It’s becoming clear that there is a problem with people not being able to afford housing like they used to be able to. This has been made worse by the introduction of right to buy by Thatcher in the 80s which reduced the numbers of council houses. The price of housing is going up and up, so more people are having to rent on the private market.

So what happens to these people who are privately renting homes, when they get to retirement age? If they can’t afford their rent?

I was lucky enough to be able to buy my house. I have young children who, by the time they get to the age I was when I bought my house, will probably not be able to afford to buy like I was. There’s a very big chance they will have to rent, possibly for the rest of their lives.

People who rent on the private market are at the mercy of whatever rents the landlords want to charge for those properties. And with more properties being rent out as short-term lets this is only going to make the situation worse.

I worry that we are heading for a situation where elderly people will end up on the streets, because there won’t be enough affordable or social housing to supply them with housing if they become homeless in the event of them not being able to afford their private rent anymore.

As a parent, I just find the whole situation so depressing.

But younger people aren’t potentially eligible for Pension Credit, so you’re wrong.

I'd be exactly the same amount of OK about it if they were under 35 or if they were over 55. People living in shared houses have always managed to date just fine, whilst showing basic manners and consideration to their housemates. Or are you trying to suggest that you think that over 55s would be unable to manage to show courtesy to their housemates like the under 35s manage to, because that's certainly not what I think.

Yes but ultimately it does not help you in the future and is a far bigger % of your outgoings.

Isn't everyone's income (from all sources) assessed for HB purposes? There's not a different income cut off for different age groups, surely? So an over 35 working age person with an income of £350/w from wages would be entitled to exactly the same amount of housing benefit as a pensioner with an income of £350/w from state pension/pension credit.

So in one fell swoop they lose their home, start losing their personal allowance, and end up having to spend more on childcare… how’s that fair?!

Note: I agree someone on £100k doesn’t need a council tax. My view is they should be for a limited period of time, say up to 5 years, until people get themselves back on their feet and into private renting or owning their own homes. I’d have a tapered rent for those living in council houses so that they progressively may more rent the more they earn.

Far bigger % of your outgoings than what?

if you think cost of home ownership you’re incorrect. It’s much more expensive. Headline mortgage costs can be lower, but they’re not all in costs.

Divorce often leads to older people renting. A couple can afford a house between them, but the equity does not support two houses. So they both end up renting.

In the city where I live there are ENORMOUS numbers of Victorian houses....hundreds of streets' worth. Some of them are large 'handsome' houses but there are a lot of two up, two down pavement edger terraces too. I often wonder what the difference was in the business/society model of those days that made it so possible to fling up thousands of houses in one short era and why that doesn't apply to today (I'm not talking about style of house necessarily but sheer scale. It's a whole other issue as to why even the smaller 'working men's ones had nice proportions and some lively details etc). You could say the same to a lesser extent about the '30s.

What changed in our ability to plan this kind of thing and make it happen?

They dont need Child Benefit either. The usual MN hypocrisy

All the other things mentioned.

And as for home ownership - it is far superior over the long term than private rentals. Not least of all because a mortgage free home in retirement is going to put you in a far better financial position.

I live in a 6 room ensuite hmo. We are treated atrociously.

Absolute minimal heating. A kitchen which has a cleaner for 10 minutes a week. An oven not cleaned for 5 years. No money spent on the kitchen ever. So very few basic essentials like chopping knives and pans with lids for cooking.

The landlord has just put my rent up to £630. So he is getting approximately £4000 per month from his 6 tennants. He has another 5 houses. So he will own all these houses having made substantial profits for minimal work.

He also turns a blind eye to overnight guests. And yes the walls are extremely thin. He allows partners and children to stay.
I wouldn't want my elderly parents staying in a hmo . Surely they deserve better than this .

The government should be making hmo accommodation illegal, forcing these cowboy landlords to sell.

Why can't they build affordable 1/2 bedroom flats with balcony or garden space and make them freehold not leasehold. Service charges of £150 per month are stopping people like myself getting on the property ladder.

Bloody hell, that is absolutely atrocious. No one should be living like that. Something has got to change.

Thats disgusting Are all your housemates roughly the same age.

Why not regulate better shared accomodation (for all ages) so it's a decent, affordable option? Sounds like your LL is a cowboy, but what on earth is wrong with high quality, regulated shared accomodation? Single people on low incomes can't afford and don't need 1-2 bed flats with balconies and garden spaces and in high cost of living areas, they are unaffordable for most people to live in alone. We don't solve the issue of a lack of affordable accomodation by building more and more expensive luxury accomodation.

Due to high turn over of tennants age varies from early 20s to mid 50s. I doubt older people and pensioners would tolerate the excessive noise and door slamming etc etc . I don't think they should have to either.

My landlord doesn't care about his tennants and well being. We are just a cash cow for him and he knows if he passes a check once every few years which is stuff like fire doors and smoke alarms he will be fine as no other government checks are done.

Even when our smoke alarms became faulty earlier this year he just came around and disconnected them. We then waited 2 months for them to be replaced as they are electric ones not standard battery ones fitted in most households.

It's scary that the government is still licencing these hmos

How is a basic one or 2 bedroom flat with a small kitchen and walk in shower luxurious. It should be basic living standards for anyone working and living in the uk.

You obviously need to try a hmo and see how hard it is living in one.

Some people don't even wash after using the toilet and you are sharing a kitchen with them. One tennant spat in the kitchen sink.

If someone is on a low income there will be no incentive to "do better" if they know the result of that would be losing a fairly stable home and being at the mercy of private LL's who could evict them at any time. HA estates would then be full f people who don't work (why should they if it means they lose their home) and everybody will be complaining that all HA homes are full of "scroungers".

Why should someone be evicted from a council house and then told to go and and pay someone else's mortgage for them?
Private renting is not even that secure. OK, renters have more rights now, but they are still bound to stupid rules like not being allowed to hang pictures up, and having an inspection every 3 months where they go complain about dirty dishes in the sink.

Don’t worry, they’ve long lost it before they get anywhere near £100k.

Heaven forbid they get a share in the same social contract as everyone else, despite funding the vast majority of it.

That sounds awful

I briefly went out with a man who lived in an HMO. There was no shared communal area or even a kitchen. He had a little counter top fridge and a microwave in his room. Had to use the taps in the bathroom if he wanted any water. Two bathrooms between 10 people. He joined a gym so he could shower, as both bathrooms were full of bicycles. It was fucking grim.

During Covid Channel 4 news did a report on a care worker who was living in an HMO and how it made it more of a struggle with infection control.

But she couldnt afford better so thats ok right? you would have been happy with her caring for your elderly mum.

I agree - but costs more in the short term and comes with its risks.

I had a minimum wage job, and could afford a one bed flat with a garden.
Now, the rent for that place is 4 times what I was paying, yet if I was still in that same job, I would only be on twice as much.
I could afford it, then a greedy landlord would have priced me out.

What do you mean by "don't need"? I was a single person in a one bed flat. Who is it meant to be for?

Sounds to me like thats the plan!!!!!!!!!!!

Why would they be evicted and told to pay someone’s mortgage? That makes zero sense.

Think about it. They, after having had the benefit of cheap accommodation for 3 years and thus preparing for having to leave it, could do as they choose, either:
A) buy a house
B) rent privately

If by “pay someone else’s mortgage” you mean rent privately, remember:

1. The landlord may not have a mortgage, so there might be no mortgage to pay
2. even where there is a mortgage to pay, it’s only part of the costs of property ownership
3. it’s not like they’re getting nothing out of the transaction, they’re getting a roof over their head for the duration that they pay their rent for. Surely that’s a good deal?