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.

If it's not OK for the 65+s why is it OK for 20s, 30, 40s and 50s? Why should 65+ expect to be treated better than younger people? That's ridiculous.

Genuinely I think a sector of 65+ only shared houses would be a good thing. If I was widowed and my kids had left home, I can see that renting a room to one or two similar aged people and sharing my home would be a great thing. I wouldn't want to rent to youngsters, but a couple of similar aged people for companionship and reduced costs? Why not?

My point is we shouldn’t be normalising this and accepting this shit as being okay and ignoring the massive impact on mental health it will have .

That’s how society has declined so much over the last couple of decades. The rich at the top are alright and in fact doing better than ever especially post pandemic, but others are being expected to tolerate grim conditions as if there’s no other options.

i am saying there needs to be action to stop this happening.

The above was a reply to this.

You would like it. For others, it would be literal hell.
OK, so the housing element in UC for the under 35s is for a shared house. After that, it is meant to be enough for a flat at least (it isn't).... at what age should it drop down to shared rate again? Because that is what you are proposing...

Someone turns 60 and has to leave their flat, and move into an HMO. Why?

Exactly. Are people so limited that they can’t understand that most people over a certain age have zero interest in becoming tenants in a flatshare? It’s like when I was 25 I was able to happily stay in a shared dorm in a hostel in Thailand. I didn’t mind getting woken up by others, I was able to overcome the ick factor of sharing communal spaces such as bathrooms and kitchens with them. As a 35+ woman I’d now rather stay at home if I can’t afford a hotel.

Yes some older people love hostels and some younger people only go to hotels so I’m generalising here, but overall the older you are the less keen you are to deal with other people’s noise and mess and routines and daily habits. It is really fucking hard living with other people for a week let alone permanently.

It’s likely an older person will have done a stint of sharing in their younger days already, where they seen it as as a phase of life you get through in their young days. How utterly depressing to be back there in your 60s.

And btw renting your own room out when you’re the house owner, is nothing like renting a room as a tenant or lodger. You are in a more secure and comfortable position and ultimately call the shots if you’re the landlord. Completely different dynamics.

For those who do want to houseshare at 65, either as a landlord or tenant knock yourself out! There’s no rules against it now but my point is let’s not normalise it to the extent where it’s expected as a suitable solution for most people because it won’t be suitable for most 65+ to flatshare.

I think it should be either OK for everyone or OK for no-one. I strongly disagree with under 35s being treated less favourably on the basis of age.

I live in London and know plenty of people of all ages in house shares.

Yep, there is no way I would want to live with someone else again. Been there, got the T-shirt.
I am settled... I am not flitting about in house shares.

Young people can try to better themselves. Get a job if they are unemployed or a promotion if they are employed. A 70-year-old cant do that. Too much punching down on the old on these threads.

I do agree that it is not fair that younger people are expected to house share either.
But I also don't think older people should just because younger people should.

Action like what though? Say we manage to support an ever increasing to live by themselves, what about the environmental cost of building all those new homes and heating them?

Exactly. I didn’t love it in my 20s but for me it was manageable knowing it was only for a limited period of time.

The idea of moving into a flatshare at age 60, after 3 decades of not having to live with strangers and then knowing that’s your lot until you die is something else.

I mean in an ideal world I would prefer no one outside of 18-21 year olds at uni etc, had to flatshare at any age unless they wanted to but on the whole it’s infinitely worse over a certain age. Utterly disingenuous to pretend it’s the same.

What grim conditions do you mean?

Yes the goal should be to make things better for everyone, and increase standards all round - not making things “fair” by making it worse for a greater number of people.

Most people under a certain age don't want to be in a flat share, ideally. Why do the under 35s have to suck it up, but no one else does?

I don’t think it should ever be anything but shared accommodation as it’s meant to provide a minimum standard of living while people get on / get back on their own two feet plus… it’s simply not affordable otherwise.

I don't know.
I lived alone in my 20s, but I could afford to (and I was on NMW).
The people the same age who house shared were students.
You used to be able to live alone on MNW. Now you can't.

More people live alone now than ever before.

But it doesn’t have to be normalised such that it’s the solution for all. It just needs to be the solution for those that can’t afford to live on their own in the basis it’s meeting the requirements and it’s unaffordable (and impractical) to house everyone separately.

yes ideally in a world with a bottomless pit of money and space we could house everyone separately, but that’s not reality.

Neither do I think housing everyone separately is good for social cohesion and the fabric of society. We need more coming together not going apart.

Can't but anything for £110k or rent even a room for £800 where I live. So thats why some young people struggle
Well it is in the SE so hard to believe it is inaccessible in most of the UK. Ultimately, when you are young and free, you've got to consider moving.

The market for flats in general is poor - people are preferring to go straight to houses
Oh, and they then moan they can't afford what is a luxury! You have to start somewhere and beggars can't be choosers.

Its so much easier to cry and moan and blame the government for what ultimately comes down to personal choice.

Someone upthread has already said this is already an issue in Australia where pensioners are living in their cars because they can’t afford their rent anymore.

I’d say that’s pretty grim 🙄

I can see a purpose built block of studio apartments being the way forward for single oaps. So small but self contained with a small kitchenette and en suite bathroom. Yes, there won’t be multiple hobby rooms etc, but each person has their own small space that they don’t have to share.

General erosion of living standards!

A few examples from the UK - trains are so ridiculously expensive, bus transport in my childhood town is worse than it was when I was growing up, and I’ve heard the same for many areas outside of London. Then the driving tests have had awful queues supposedly stemming from the pandemic but they refused to address is for years so bots and unscrupulous test resellers took over thus making the problem worse . So now younger people are even struggling to book the test!

House prices - far more expensive in many areas relative to people’s salary compared to how they were 2 or 3 decades ago.

Scarce social housing, insanely high private rents - in some cities people are actually outbidding each other for rooms.

Energy prices - out of control, privatised water companies letting sewage be dumped in our waters then demanding customers bail them out. Regulators not doing their job.

Yes, definitely not ideal.

Why have any accommodation with garden at all?
My mum lives alone in her council house with garden. Her garden keeps her going.
Her mental health would decline if you chucked her in a high rise.

Gosh yeah I keep seeing YouTube videos of people living in their cars ffs 🤦🏽‍♀️

street sleeping has been on the rise over the last decade or so too as too has been food banks!