in thinking the goverment should have never sold off council houses?

[gingertabby]

there is just not nough to go round.
fair enough if they rebuilt them, but they don't, well certainly not enough.

it wasn't this government..it was the tories...say no more..

But the people who bought them were happy to do so, so no, the government was not wrong.

Our first house was ex-council. It gave us options we wouldn't have had if we had to compete with more people for fewer houses.

The council doesn't have a monopoly on social housing. Purchasers of housing have to suffer competition just as much as prospective council tenants.

yanbu
Bloody thatcher

Absolutely agree. We desperately need more council housing. Not grotty flats in ghettos. Decent houses, with gardens, near shops and schools and other amenities. Lots of different sizes, so that communities can live together. The whole property system just separates the haves and have nots, and promotes greed and selfishness.

(I do have a property, and a mortgage that I shall probably still be paying till I die).

I don't think my children will have a hope in hell of getting on the property ladder, and inheriting my home between them will not help as they will have to pay the inheritance tax and sell the house anyway.

i wouldn't buy a house that was ex-council where the tenant bought it from teh government.

why? because i already paid to subsidise their first home, why should i also line their pockets with a whacking great profit so they can swan off elsewhere.

What implications?

There is a need for more houses in this country due to increased population, and also because of the breakdown of society (families split up and require two houses instead of one).

Housing is just as sought after in the private sector as it is for social housing. New developments all have a proportion of social housing and keyworker accommodation.

YANBU.

RTB is a shortsighted, crappy scheme that has made a certain amount of people happy, but has caused untold problems for a lot more.

Agree with StewieGriffinsMom.

think some councils are stoping the right to buy, cause there is shortage of houses 2 rent now, most stock they have is in "bad areas" and on the smaller size.would like to see them rebuild to replace, what r they doing with the council tax everyone pays?

'New developments all have a proportion of social housing and keyworker accommodation.'

No, they don't and aren't under obligation to if they are under a certain size, and that varies by area.

many councils have ended right to buy for all new tenants and put moratoriums on it for existing ones.

I agree totally - we need masses more social housing, it should be an option for everyone who wants it.

they should have never!

im not sure i think it was a good idea only if there was the equivalent build in mixed communities

Interesting article (by Jorn Harris) about this here.

'When councils sold properties - at discounts of up to 50% - they were legally obliged to use the money to pay off debt rather than to build replacement homes. The results of such restrictions were not hard to predict: as Shelter had forecast in 1979, the supply of what we now call social housing fell way behind demand, and we ended up where we are today: according to official figures, four million people are waiting for either a council or housing association home, and the number is expected to rise to five million by 2010.'

it's a done deal now.

some people made huge profits off the sale of their former council home on the open market, and millions more wound up with completely unaffordable housing.

a fox could have sussed that out.

It was one of the worst policies ever. Has devastated housing stock. People bought at rock bottom prices and have made huge profits...and now there is no decent housing stock left for those in need. A stupid, stupid policy.

I think that private housing should be cheaper. Giving everyone a chance to live somewhere they choose. It seems crazy that you can work your arse off but still not be able to afford to pay a mortgage. I hate 'property'.

I think it was a good idea BUT only if they replaced those with new ones with the money made from the sale.

I would think a great many people have been lucky enough to be able to now own their own homes which they otherwise could not have. I mean with the discount they had. Those people will probably tell you they are glad they had the opportunity.

It has, unfortunately had a knock on effect in that there is now not enought housing to go round. Each one sold should have been replaced IMO and then everyone would have been happier about it.

But they were sold at ridiculous prices-the money raised was not enough to replace the stock. That was never part of Thatcher's plan...

I object hugely to people buying council houses/flats at a massive discount and then reaping a massive profit when they sold the houses/flats on. Maybe a significant % of any profit from an 'open market' sale should have gone back to the council?

What a shame that was never implemented earlybird! It infuriates me too that people made such a gain at the cost of affordable housing for others.