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Right to Buy Council Houses - immediately private rented out.
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"Should this link to the conservative thread?" I didn't see that thread. I wasn't trying to make it political - just seems a crazy loophole that needs to be closed! | |||
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"The whole right to buy scheme was the end of meaningful affordable rented accommodation in this country." As a friend in her twenties said to me, why do we even have to talk about affordable when discussing the roof over your head? It's an essential and should be regulated to ensure we can have a roof over our heads that is realistically priced. | |||
"The whole right to buy scheme was the end of meaningful affordable rented accommodation in this country." Absolutely! It had some meets but our private rental market is just so wrong atm. I think we need massive regulation of the rental market which could also lower house prices as a knock on benefit. We should definitely have masses more social housing too. | |||
"Should this link to the conservative thread?" Not strictly. Labour had the idea and then Thatcher ran with it and developed it. | |||
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"Should this link to the conservative thread? Not strictly. Labour had the idea and then Thatcher ran with it and developed it. " I was being naughty. 
Sorry.
You could say social housing is very illiberal.
Saying it's essential means that it should be provided. However whilst thatmay have good intentions once you take price out of any market demand shoots up.
Which means selecting who gets a house on other factors. Which can be just as unfair. | |||
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"So lets say someone has paid full weekly rent for 20 years (more than a mortgage) worked full time, raised a family on buttons in the meantime. Is that not then an entitled investment on their part? Housing association rents are increasing dramatically that I don't see them as affordable or any different to private rented housing. I know this because my partner is a landlord of two properties (not bought from the council btw) The rent is very similar, around about the £100 mark. That's in the North East thoguh. I'm only asking the question from the other side of the argument so don't bite me heed off lol its certainly an emotive subject. " That is a fair point, however during that 20 years, all repairs to that property, and planned maintenance - new kitchen maybe or bathroom etc will have been funded for them. Then they buy it, heavily discounted and rent it out. It is not even so much, the person renting it out, I don't blame them. They are not doing anything illegal, but generally the private rent is higher, so the amount paid in housing benefit is a lot more. I agree with housing benefit, it is there for a reason, but we need to look at what we can do to cut the costs of it. This loophole is not helping ! | |||
"It don't make sense to me, if your a.council tenant and you buy your house to rent it out you have to find somewhere else to live either private rent our take out a mortgage on another property, so you'll be paying the rent on your ex council right to buy home and rent or mortgage on where your living, that's going to cost you loads more than just living in your rights to buy house, I see no insentive to do this " Buy on right to buy at reduced price. Sell to a landlord at market rates. Rent another house whilst pocketing any capital gains from the sale. Simples. | |||
"It don't make sense to me, if your a.council tenant and you buy your house to rent it out you have to find somewhere else to live either private rent our take out a mortgage on another property, so you'll be paying the rent on your ex council right to buy home and rent or mortgage on where your living, that's going to cost you loads more than just living in your rights to buy house, I see no insentive to do this " In my borough it's as dear to rent as it is to buy. People who buy a council property cheap then rent it out to cover the cheap mortgage,buy another property and have some of that mortgage covered by the rent from the council property they are renting out. My mother in law bought her council house for £25,000.00. Sold it for £140,000.00 3 years later. Bought a property abroad outright with the profit and retired there. To rent her house now would cost approx £250 per week,maybe more | |||
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"It don't make sense to me, if your a.council tenant and you buy your house to rent it out you have to find somewhere else to live either private rent our take out a mortgage on another property, so you'll be paying the rent on your ex council right to buy home and rent or mortgage on where your living, that's going to cost you loads more than just living in your rights to buy house, I see no insentive to do this Buy on right to buy at reduced price. Sell to a landlord at market rates. Rent another house whilst pocketing any capital gains from the sale. Simples. " oic you mean council tenants are buy their homes and selling them straight on to private renters? Makes sense now, I though it ment the tenants were buying to rent out themselves  | |||
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"There is a clause in the agreement when you buy from council/association that your not allowed to sell within 5 years. If you do choose to sell you HAVE to sell it back to them for the price you paid." (Sell it to them within the 5 year period) | |||
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"There are around 600,000 empty homes in the UK (2013 figures). Why don't the councils buy these, renovate them and sell on under right to buy to tenants. Or sell on housing associations atond help alleviate the housing crisis? " Because local authorities just don't have the money to do so...central government have slashed budgets...the largest council in Europe being one of the worse effected councils to be hit with the cuts in budget. Front line services have been slashed and the statutory homeless services are running on empty...it is what it is some councils just can't afford to do it | |||
"council houses were intended for those who could not afford to buy or to rent decent accommodation. The rents are/were subsidised, and a lot less than the private sector for comparable accommodation. Then there's all the repairs and refurbishment. So after having tax payer subsidised accommodation, they get to buy it at a reduced price - wtf! It should remain in the public sector to be allocated on a means tested basis. Those who can afford to rent privately should be moved out to make way for those in need. There should never have been, nor should there ever be, a right to buy." There are two major housing associations in my area. My parents pay just over a £100 a week in rent and that does not include free repairs. They have to pay towards the cost. The other association offer new windows etc to tenants but an additional charge goes on top of the rent for it. Genuine right to buy tenants should not be vilified for others abusing the system. As I have said in an earlier post, private rent is the same as social up here. | |||
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"Article in the Independent today:-Councils are selling off their already-limited supplies of housing stock and allowing former council tenants to profiteer as buy-to-let landlords. There are rules to deter the immediate sale of properties bought under Right to Buy but renting is unregulated, so the Government’s hefty discounts on sales have turned former council tenants into buy-to-let landlords overnight. Council leaders have branded the situation a “national scandal”. In April 2012, David Cameron increased the cap on the maximum discount to £75,000, or £100,000 for London. In the borough of Haringey 396 homes have been sold under Right to Buy since April 2012; of those, 28 are already being rented out to people on housing benefit at a cost of more than £265,000 a year to the public purse. Of 82 council homes sold under the new Right to Buy scheme in Corby, Northamptonshire, 25 are now rented by people on housing benefit, costing £85,063.95 since April 2012. Money raised through sales is supposed to go to building more affordable homes, but building work cannot keep up with the speed of sales. More than 20,000 homes have been sold under Right to Buy since April 2012 while just 3,364 replacement social homes have been built. Sales of council homes are likely to increase after the Government announced a further discount in July, raising the maximum discount for a house to 70 per cent of its value. Homes can now be bought at a discount of up to £77,000, or £102,700 in London, which will increase every year in line with inflation. It all seems a bit crazy to me, as the rent for Social Housing is so much cheaper than private rent. We are taking them out of the stock, yet then paying Housing Benefit for other people moving into them, but at a much higher rate. So the tax payer has lost out all ways, yet they are not even building at the rate of keeping up with the right to buys that are taking place. So it will become worse and worse! Plus the new private rent tenants, do not even have the protection of a long term tenancy, as they would with a council/housing association property. " It's called free market capitalism.and empowerING the poorest members of society. U can't have ur cake n eat it. | |||
