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.

How much stamp duty did you pay on those 3 purchases in a relatively short space of time?

And also the modern requirement to pay high up front arrangement fees for mortgages, followed by high early redemption fees if people want to pay off their mortgage early, if you want an affordable interest rate whether fixed rate or tracker etc. If you move often, they add up to a significant amount. Go back a few decades and you just got a bog standard variable rate mortgage at an affordable interest rate without ruinously high arrangement fees and redemption fees.

It's no surprise that people don't move as often anymore as the total costs of moving are a lot higher than they used to be - i.e. stamp duty, finance fees, etc. But also other things like surveyors costs are expensive these days as are removal firms. Also, you can get caught out by early redemption of utility contracts if you move during the fixed term.

What’s the ‘average health’ of a 70 year old? Most 70 year olds have mobility problems. HMOs are usually two or three stories, with shared bathrooms. Your comment is clearly based in the fact that you don’t know many 70 year olds. Some are absolutely fine, but many aren’t. And what about an 80 year old, or 90 year old? Is there an age when you think that maybe HMO isn’t appropriate? Or do you think 70 year olds once they reach 80 should be taken from their hmo and shipped off to a care home or Switzerland to put them out of their misery?

The Blair government had (IIRC) 13 years in which to repeal or drastically amend Right to Buy, but they didn’t. I wonder why? Could it possibly be because they thought it’d lose them votes?

And it was Gordon Brown who by various moves, inc. retaining mortgage interest relief for landlords, while scrapping it for owner occupiers, absolutely helped to kick off the boom in buy to let.

I rather suspect that Labour’s reasoning was, if we have masses more properties to let privately, we won’t need to bother about providing social housing.
Unfortunately they didn’t foresee the massive rise in property prices relative to incomes, which has occurred in many other countries, not just the UK.

So at what age is it acceptable for one to acquire these hobbies, personal belongings and health issues that entitle them to live alone at other people's expense?
(Im guessing right around the age you happen to be)

I dont think younger ppl should have to either Go back and read my posts again Who do you think i meant when i said the child free get the rougher deal

Exactly and there are several stages between living at home and care home People usually dont go straight from one to the other. Other things like care at home are tried first. Imagine having to try and do that with a shared bathroom.

I think it's been dysfunctional since before then, tbh.

Rising rents and house prices made it difficult to find affordable housing in the 80s for people on low-average incomes, private rents were high relative to earnings, social housing wasn't being built and was being sold off.

Then in the latter part of the decade, rocketing interest rates and a few other factors led to a massive crash in prices, negative equity, mortgage repossessions and homelessness. My house was valued at £88k at the peak, and sold for £49k 5 years after the crash. Some of my friends who lost their homes are still renting now, though now they're old it's easier for them to get social housing (higher "turnover" of tenancies on older people's housing).

When I was a kid in the1960s, secure tenancies were normal and there were rent controls and "rent rebates" (early form of housing benefit) for the low paid. My aunt lived in the same flat for nearly 60 years, initially as a tenant, but then the landlord wanted to sell. As they had a secure tenancy it wasn't worth much with tenants in and they bought it for a song.

Golden Girls was not a documentary.

I think the government should look if people can afford rent they should be allowed to get a mortgage without a deposit because technically they are paying the landlords mortgage anyway. Also with the new tax system I think the government are hoping the rental market will start to decrease as they are expecting landlords to sell up or they will have to send there accounts in to hmrc each quarter which is a cost to them it was only once a year before this new rule so the more properties you have the new rules kick in this year. If people work and don’t get any government benefits they should be able to get mortgages. Also home owners are more likely to keep working to keep there homes.

Maybe prefab housing could be used. After the war loads of homeless families were moved into prefab houses. I vaguely remember seeing the last of them in the 60s.

Honestly think they need to allow more people to have mortgages. Im renting at £1125 pm but if i buy a similar house in my area, my mortgage with 5% deposit would be less per month. Hoping to but imminently 🙏 its madness

I know 70 year olds in HMOs. There are not loads of elderly looking for other elderly to live with. They live in HMOs because they are desperate. Like I said, they spend all day in pubs to get out the house. They don't even have a lounge to sit in... as it has been made into another bedroom.
As you get older, you like your own space. I am in my 40s and I don't want to live with anyone ever again. Been there, done that.

There is already things like sheltered accommodation for older people, but they are still self contained flats, but with a communal area and a warden. No sharing a kitchen or lounge.

That is very sad. People deserve dignity in old age.

Yes they do but I think there’s a tendency for expectations creep today vs historic and / or other countries ie more people expecting to live alone / in small numbers rather than live at home for longer, live in shared homes, live in multigenerational homes etc etc.

Some old people are just reaping what they sowed. Feckless arseholes don't magically become sweet old dears.

I agree to an extent but would argue there’s more elasticity than what might be considered at first thought.

ie options to live at home for longer, options for multigenerational living, options for more communal living

The unrealistic expectation that every young professional, single parent etc will get their own home (or at least is “entitled” to one) is driving demand when in reality they’re examples of lifestyle creep that as a society we perhaps need to have a conversation about giving the lack of housing and the need for the country to balance the books

That's sad.

Have they checked that they're not entitled to any housing benefit? If you know how much their rent is, and that their income is 2 x state pension, you could check on entitledto.co.uk .

I know a pensioner couple who rent privately and they get nearly £100pw in housing benefit, but this is in a high rent area. The rent isn't much less than half their combined pension income.

It's also a lot easier for older people to get social housing. There's a higher turnover of social housing for older people, because of what my housing officer friend refers to as "natural wastage"!

Young people also like their own space. If it's not suitable for 70 year olds, it's not suitable for 20 year olds. It's not OK to treat tax paying 20 year olds as lesser than retired 70 year olds. Shared houses are either OK or they're not.

I can see a model of more 60+ only shared houses coming into existence, and I don't see that as a bad thing. Shared accommodation with similar aged people, social interaction, sharing of chores and supporting each other etc. If more single elders are renting, surely this sector will grow? A 70 year old in a house of young people wouldn't be great, but 3 65 year olds sharing a 3 bed house, why not?

Social care is much more akin to childcare - it is something that you need as you age, that is to be expected and planned for. The people receiving it should pay towards it - with some more limited service available for those with no assets (and I mean no assets - not a massive house that they don't want to sell)

Health and illness are more variable and less predictable and so we pay NI as a sort of insurance to help pay towards it. I think everyone who has the income to do so, should pay NI - no matter their age.

I also think the NHS has had its day and needs to be much more limited in what it provides - only acute care and strongly limited by cost benefit analysis.

Everyone should pay something towards prescriptions - at all ages.

Tell the Gov that. People under 35 are only entitled to a shared room rent in UC... so not enough to live alone in their own flat.

Why are you assuming anyone in their 60s would want to live with others? I bloody would not.

Exactly. It’s annoying how flippantly some people talk of flat sharing.

It ruined my mental health for a period of time, as I had to do it for several years. I was in fear for my life in some situations ( I have stories!) and even at the best of times I was mostly on edge.

The few exceptions being when I was a student sharing with friends in my late teens/early 20s and one or two super compatible flatmates I had in my late 20s.

It can be hard sharing space with even people you love, but when it’s basically just a bunch of strangers that you have no ties to it’s a different ball game altogether.

That must be a very cheap area and not an option for most young workers.

It’s not great at all. I didn’t like doing it in my 20s after graduation but it was doable because I knew once I got into my 30s I wouldn’t have to do it again so I thought it off as a phase of life I’d be able to get through and look ahead to brighter days for the rest of my life.

The idea of having a future to look forwards to that entails flat sharing is awful as a millennial.

Basically yeah it was bad enough in my 20s but it’s unimaginable to think of doing that in my 60s

But is there a realistic and affordable alternative?