'Right to buy' discount increased

[JuliaScurr]

Is this the most ridiculous policy in the middle of a housing crisis?
Don't forget the housing benefit cap will put even more pressure on social housing

argh, So even less council houses.
Anyone would think the Govt liked paying Housing benefit to private landlords....

It's not ridiculous. Shedding old housing stock by selling it to tenants means councils can reduce their maintenance bill and bring in some much-needed revenue at the same time. As long as they've got a social housing development programme happening at the same time, everyone wins.

Every social housing sold will be replaced by another one newly built. So this is a good way for councils to have a stock of more modern housing and the total amount of social housing should stay constant, or in some areas it will increase.

The discount is still capped though, which means in the most pressured parts of the country (London/South East), the new discounts won't be enough to encourage many to buy. It is really tough to get a mortgage now and most people I know won't have a high enough income/deposit.

I do worry that some of them will want to take advantage of the discount but ultimately end up missing out because they will struggle to maintain the property, pay high service charges and end up having to sell it anyway when they become older if they have to go into care. There doesn't seem to be a huge advantage to me to buying a council flat over renting it, unless you want to eventually buy elsewhere or can't pass the tenancy on to your children.

The right to buy council houses came into force when very few people could get morgages from banks, building societies were not in existance.

Most working class people didn't have bank accounts etc,so borrowing would have been imposible, that doesn't apply now.

Selling off council houses doesn't work, we eventually run out of land and sink estates spring up, without the transport links, to support employment.

There is no justifiable reason to sell off council houses, most new builds have deposits paid etc.

But the tory's want minimal help from the state and housing is included in the plans.

Most council houses brought in my area are under the tenants name but paid for by family, as an investment.

One woman moved back in with her mother, after renting her house out and now her mother has died has been allowed to buy it. It is good property in a decent area and she is getting the discount, madness.

In the North West, there is no reason for this scheme, also, employment is that unstable that where as their rent will be paid if they lose their job, but the full mortgage won't be.

Well that's just great. People who are lucky enough to have a council property already pay 1/3 of the rent that the rest of us do, not to mention that they have the security of knowing they won't have their home sold out from under them/can decorate as they like etc etc. The selling off of council houses has made me so for years and now they want to give even bigger discounts? People whose subsidised rent is so low that they can afford to save for a deposit should expect to pass the property to another family in need, not make themselves a tidy profit. It makes me sick, it really does.

Sundaybreeze Every social housing home sold will (possibly) release enough money to build back one at "Affordable Rent" - ie 80% of market rent - not another social rented home, So much less social housing and up goes the housing benefit bill.

And they have actually no idea whether they'll be able to build one back for each one sold as it depends on the value of the homes sold, costs of building, whether there's anywhere to build, etc, etc.

But the new Affordable Rents will happen regardless of whether homes are bought under RTB. Every time an old tenancy is ended, each new one will be under the new Affordable Rent rules, so gradually all rented homes will be under that system, whether or not people have bought their homes. The rented homes will still be owned by the council though, so better protected than private rented housing.

Unfortunately Thatcher made sure that the recipts from council house sales went to government, not to local councils.

Why will councils build more houses paid for by local people, that can be sold and end up with private landlords?

receipts sorry

sunday the hb cap will increase the problem because there will be evern less available housing
The sanctimonious little git Housing minister, Grant Schapps, was on R4 earlier with the head of Shelter. It was pointed out that right to buy people are much more likely to get repo'ed. Then the house is auctioned, bought by private landlords, re-let at ?x the original rent.
The stress of insecure housing is awful and unbalances the whole economy

I rent in a block in London which is a mix of ex-BTL and Council properties. At the height of the last boom we were frequently leafleted by companies looking for low-income tenants to exercise their RTB. The idea was that the company would put up the money to buy the flat, with the tenant 'fronting' the deal. The tenant would live there rent free for two years, the period necessary to avoid paying back the discount. The company would then take over, give them £30k to leave, and install HB tenants at 5 or 6 times the Council rent. All perfectly legal, but a huge cost to the taxpayer.

catkin - the Labour government changed the rules a few years back to put a stop to that sort of thing. They can't do it any more as it's not legal for the tenants to sign contracts with them until they've owned the property for several years, so the schemes have stopped as far as I know.

This policy makes me angry. We bought an ex-council flat for over £250k a few years back. The social housing tenant in an identical flat in the same block seems to think she is able to buy it at 50% discount. Surely her and others will simply sell it after a few years and pocket the windfall? Just don't get it....again it seems the more you earn and provide for your family, the less you 'opportunity' you are provided.

I think on balance it is a good idea out of a difficult situation. It encourages aspiritaion and a mixed economy of houses on an estate is often a good idea. For everyone annoyed that they paid alot more for ex council properties, there is someone annoyed that they missed getting on the ladder at the right time or that they have to pay £30K for university and other people didn't. It should be good that people who were in a difficult position financially are now in a position to buy their own house. Why should they pay the rent over and over if the cheapest houses are out of reach. Either way (whether they buy or not) they are going to be taking up that house so it won't be avaliable for other people. So if they can buy it it saves the council money on maintenence and gives money towards another low rental house. Win win.

jelly I feel youi are hugely over-optimistic that market forces will provide for all our needs. Read any newspapers recently?
We need a much bigger stock of public sector affordable housing, not a bigger mortgage market

I agree we need more social housing. But there isn't much chance of that at the moment. That is why I said that it is, on balance, a good idea out of a difficult situation. Where did I say market forces will provide all our needs?

I think the Government is so desperate for cash (and a not so far away election coming up) that it's resorted to this. David Cameron has been a huge disappointment for me.

This is such a rubbish idea - I just don't see how it will result in 1 for 1 replacement and many of those helped in recent years through the Govt's mortgage rescue scheme were those who bought through RTB and got into financial trouble!

And don't get me started on the let's shore up the profits of the housebuilders Newbuy scheme

They never get replaced, my council has built 3 new council flats in the last 5 years (and they are 1-2 bed ones) no good for a family.

Just be more shafting of people, tenants offered cash to buy on behalf of a private landlord who then charges rent to continue living there or turfs the tenants out and sells/rents it to someone else.

Tories don't want social housing we all know this, they will be so happy to see it all dwindle away.

Rent rises in Lambeth of approximately 17% 9% 9% 9% over the past four years (not to mention previous increases), mean in real terms my rent has doubled in under 10 years, I am a working single mother on a low income, not low enough to claim housing benefit and no desire to do so, although financially it would seem we would be better off.

When I complained in the past over the 17% rise along with many other tenants, I was told by Lib Peck herself that it was due to all kitchens and bathrooms being replaced.

More and more onus has been placed on the tenant for repairs, Lambeth does no decoration, has scrapped promise to improve kitchens and bathrooms, yet we're extorted with rent increases every year.

With the money taken from us we may have been able to improve council properties for ourselves employing tradesmen who take pride in what they do and treat the tenant like a client, as it is, we are left with no money to improve our surroundings and receive poor customer service from every department.

My kitchen sink unit fell apart whilst waiting to be included in aforementioned scrapped scheme, it took three appointments to get it replaced (including a revisit when my kitchen flooded as a result) and it has been done to a very poor standard.
Who makes these arbitrary decisions? I have been expected to find an extra £60 per month, £40 per month, £40 per month £40 I'm now paying £180 more a month than 5 years ago......When will it end?

If only your idea of social housing was true, please see my post! Also people are in social housing for many different reasons, it may mean they've had a very difficult start in life. I have witnessed tenanted and empty council properties being allowed to fall into disrepair and then be sold off to property developers, the excuse being that they are too expensive to maintain. Private Landlords charging ridiculous unregulated rents and the relaxation of tax on second homes to rent and this practise of (deliberate or not) bad management of social housing is where the real problems lie. Can we please also remember the corruption exposed in the expenses scandal, the same government responsible for this second home bonus.