http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17330035

I'd have no problem with it if I thought they could actually replace the houses, we already know they can't meet current demand!

That really annoys me. Why should (in effect) the tax payer subsidise people buying a house?
And before someone says "Oh they've been paying the council rent for years", Yes, because they've lived there and you expect to pay rent to cover the costs to the council in terms of maintenance etc. The councils then have to pay even more to replace the house they just sold.
IMO they should keep "right to buy", but it should be at market value, nothing less.

I don't know if it's still true, but I've heard it said in the past that the rent doesn't go anywhere near covering the running costs of a council house and the country would be financially better off if we just gave them away. So, basically getting whatever money you can to minimize the loss. After all, it's not like you can rent the same house twice so it's not taking housing out of the market.

I'm actually surprised we have any council houses left, although I'm not sure what exactly is meant by "Social housing"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_housing



I've always understood the term "social housing" to mean homes that can be rented to those who are unable to buy a home. That would cover people like me, who have never earned enough money over my career to fund a mortgage. (I'm just lucky I live with someone who owns their house and doesn't have a mortgage any more.)

My mother's parents lived in a council house in a large council estate in Guildford. Mum's mum still lives in a council house. The estates were built by the county and borough councils in the early 20th century for the workers to live in.

I have always thought it was wrong to give people a right to buy the council house. Still, the damage has been done now.

This is just about the most galactically stupid idea I've heard in a long time.

We've spent years moaning at the banks for lending to people who can't afford it, and now we moan because the banks aren't lending to people who can't afford it.

And IMO, nobody should ever be allowed to buy a council house anyway. If you can afford a mortgage, you shouldn't have been in that council house in the first place.

I agree. However, it seems most young couples these days can afford the mortgage. It's just raising the deposit they can't do.

My reaction to that is why not rent? What is this obsession with owning a property?

That's what I meant. Council houses are subsidised housing for people who can't afford to rent or buy.

If you can afford a mortgage, you can afford rent. So get out of the council house.

Sounds to me like this is targeting the wrong problem - house prices are still too high, and all this is doing is artificially keeping prices up. The market should be left to sort itself out rather than wasting taxpayers money on a gimmick like this.

The market is only allowed to interfere when it's poor people that will lose out.

Jon

You're agreeing with me again

*shudder*