Time to tackle the rentier economy.

I did get that Callistemon. I'm not very good nowadays at putting my thoughts into words. I blame M.E. brain fog.?.

Same regarding why the Tories won't act. I do know that they don't support social housing.
It's infuriating to know what needs to be done regarding housing education health etc and watch the government doing very little that is meaningful.

I agree with you Iam64 . Those right to buy tenants who sold on to landlords are probably the people who complain that their children can’t buy or afford high rents.

Fennel I totally agree. I do hope that manufacturing can return to the North along with other industries to help the economy and people.

trisher at 17.56 today - yes I agree that preventing council's from building social housing is another way of reducing the local authorities ability to serve their communities. Or taking away their powers.

Early on in this discussion I referred to the need to invest in social housing. The right to buy should be dispensed with. Our area is like so many we have several council estates built post war. These are excellent family homes with 3 bedrooms and decent garden space.

The right to buy led to many being snapped up at ridiculously low prices by private landlords. Some of those houses are being rented to tenants who were evicted from council properties for anti social behaviour, usually drug dealing. Thatcher claimed the right to buy was an entirely good thing in enabling families who had "bought" their home in rental payments. That worked well for some people but for society as a whole, not so well.

This country is too small for our growing population.
The land in the SE is so expensive, rents are higher because demand exceeds supply. Most of the work is there.
This fact underlies most of the inequalities. But if building of homes expands into rural areas agricuture will be affected and we will be eventually short of food.
So it's a catch22 situation.

Annana

Newnanny: do you honestly believe that a communist state gives equality to all? There‘s no such system possible , unless everyone has nothing . I guess that the only way is to nurture a model which tries to ensure that all have an opportunity to better themselves and all must contribute fairly. Difficult!

newnannny always says this in the face of anything that might conceivably be left wing. I don't know why, because Labour has always supported a mixed economy; the state runs the 'natural monopolies', like water, energy and health, but everything that they purchase by way of goods and services is always purchased from private enterprises. This is not even distantly approaching a communist 'command' economy.

Nor does the LP have any problem with people 'bettering themselves'; why should they?

I find it rather odd, though, that 'bettering yourself' seems to be a desirable thing to achieve. What if you don't want to 'better yourself'? What if you're perfectly happy as you are?
Is that a moral failing?

that should be "to keep"

I have wondered about social housing and I understand that Thatcher used its privatisation as a way to get votes, but I also wonder if it has become a way of limiting local authority power. Councils must have had a considerable income from council house rents, it surely couldn't have all been used in costs, so it is possible that the housing has been eroded in order token more power in central government.

Research has constantly shown that the more inequality there is in a country the less well its economy does.

Conversely the more equal the economy thrives and grows.

annep1

It's not funny at all Callistemon. How is anyone meant to save a deposit while paying a high rent.
My eldest son did the same thing by the way.

Trisher good post. The government knows good social housing would make such a difference. Why do they not act on it?

No, I do know. Especially for a single person.

(It was a comment on a post way up the thread about people with tattoos!)

Newnanny: do you honestly believe that a communist state gives equality to all? There‘s no such system possible , unless everyone has nothing . I guess that the only way is to nurture a model which tries to ensure that all have an opportunity to better themselves and all must contribute fairly. Difficult!

The government knows good social housing would make such a difference. Why do they not act on it?

Look, I'm not trying to be snarky or score points or belittle anyone here, but surely people must realise that the government won't act on it because they are tories?

Since Thatcher sold off all those council houses all those years ago the tories have never made any effort to ensure that there is adequate social housing. It goes against their 'small state' ideology.

This is just a fact of life. Voting tory will never get you adequate social housing.

Because NIMBYs don't want social housing on their doorsteps and some of them are doing very nicely from rental income or "land banking".

It's not funny at all Callistemon. How is anyone meant to save a deposit while paying a high rent.
My eldest son did the same thing by the way.

Trisher good post. The government knows good social housing would make such a difference. Why do they not act on it?

She's hardly ever worked either. Her first husband died before they divorced, leaving her with a pension, insurance policies and a house paid off by an endowment policy, then she went off with her best friend's husband within a few months.

And she has the nerve to be one of those people who moan about scroungers. She's not somebody I feel very positive about (to say the least)!

varian

Life's not fair growstuff, but I wonder, if he inherits millions and doesn't squander his fortune, will you children eventually inherit?

Yes, they will - and that's another story! Guess why they're keen on sucking up to Grandma and Dad and listening to the poisonous stories about their penniless Mum.

When we divorced, Grandma paid for her solicitor and accountant to make sure that I wouldn't ever be able to touch a penny of any money. That didn't bother me, but it did mean that I never received any child maintenance and I brought the children up on my earnings until they were 18 for 15 years.

Life's not fair growstuff, but I wonder, if he inherits millions and doesn't squander his fortune, will you children eventually inherit?

Tell me about it! My former husband became a property developer after we divorced. By setting up a business and going into partnership with his mother, he somehow managed to make it look as though he had no income, so was never liable to pay me any child maintenance. Meanwhile, he owns ten properties (last I knew) and is set to inherit millions. The lazy bum has hardly ever worked in his life (I was the main earner during our marriage), which is why it's a sore point when smug people go on about meritocracy and working hard. Unfortunately, life's a sh*t.

newnanny

@annepl, other similar houses are put up for £50 more a month but I charge enough to cover repayment mortgage, gas cert, electric very, maintenance and repairs. None of my tenants ever wait more than 24 hours for a faulty or broken appliance to be repaired or replaced. I use the same gas, electrician, plasterer and plumbers for all houses so they will come for me quickly. I never have to advertise as have a waiting list and tenants reccomend me to their friends and family because I keep houses well decorated. This year one house had 10 new internal doors and a new kitchen. Another one had new laminate floors in hall, Lani g and 3 bedrooms as tenants asthmatic and struggle with carpets. Another property had new skirting boards and repainted. I know not all LL keep the property in good repair.

Plus, until the rules changed a few years ago, you were able to claim all the interest on your mortgage against the rental income. Many landlords used buy to let mortgages with no repayment of capital and could sit back and wait for the property price to appreciate before selling. Capital Gains aided by the other tax payers.

The other thing about "buy to lets" is that they siphon off money, which could be spent on investing in genuinely productive businesses, which provide employment.

That will continue until there are more lucrative forms of investment and there isn't a chronic lack of supply in housing.

I also agree that SMEs need more support, especially in the current situation. They're the backbone of the economy - not the tax dodging investors/tax exiles or mega-rich millionaires.

I agree with you trisher. Lack of affordable housing is at the root of many of the UK's economic problems. It's ridiculous that some people are paying such a huge percentage of their earned income on accommodation/rent. Those who won't inherit stand almost chance of ever getting out of the trap. Housing is hardly a luxury in a developed country. It's also ridiculous that some people can become wealthier just by owning and trading in property. In this case, the market is failing its users because it's not providing what's needed.

PamelaJ1 I don't know the circumstances but he doesn't sound worth keeping. Your poor DD.

annep1

Callistemon its not funny but you made us laugh.

I didn't laugh at the time, she was young then. However, it is discreet.

Not far from where I live there is a row of what were probably once very grand houses. They are privately owned (mostly by one landlord) and have almost all been converted into dingy flats and rental rooms. It sounds like a page from a Dickens novel but you often see the owner/landlord and his heavies walking up and down collecting the rent from those poor unfortunates . It makes my blood boil.