Dec
20
Was The Government Right In The Past To Sell Council Homes?
Posted by admin Comments (15)
“Housing campaigners have condemned the council house sell-off programme that has left millions languishing on waiting lists.”http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index…
“Research from the HSBC bank showed that around 2.5 million council houses have been sold since the Tories’ right-to-buy scheme – which continues to flourish under Labour – was created 30 years ago.”
Categories: All About Selling
It would have been a good idea if councils had been allowed to use the money raised to build more council housing. The problem was that they weren’t. Instead, the money was used to subsidise the notorious poll tax, and to privatise the maintenance of council housing stock . It wasn’t just about “right to buy.” In many areas people were coerced into buying their council houses under the threat that they would be handed over to private landlords.
It was also a ploy to trap thousands of workers into taking on a mortgage, which meant that, whatever the justice of their cause, they couldn’t take industrial action, for fear of not being able to meet mortgage repayments.
All in all, it was a bad idea, from which few people benefited.
The trouble was, all the money that was taken in the housing stock sales should have been ploughed back into new council developments, but I understand that it never was. So, all the various govts since then have had all that time and money to put things right, but they never really did put anything right.
My Dad was one that bought his council house back in the late 70′s when they started to sell them off, and he turned it into a really lovely house, and most of the people around him bought their houses and turned what used to be quite a mundane looking street into a really nice area with caring and proud people living around each other. It TOTALLY transformed that community that was once a rough estate that I grew up on in the city Nottingham, but it is still a nice place to live. I just know that most of those people would never have been able to buy a normal house had the offer not been available to them. So, it was a great thing in that respect and worked very well immediately or soon after people bought them.
So, I believe that the govt back then was right to sell them.
And What’s worse, In netherlands a Quake caused speeding decay in the foundation of the barracks where I lived. Measuring for statistics stopped after 1999 there were no parameters for the speed of sinking and sliding off balance of the house that I lived. I understand the law full precedences lie herein that previous Governments have calculated in the amount of rent paid on premises. Reason for Department of Housing, to write all assets over into the Data Banks of the Arnhem department of Housing, who have been actively attacked by admin online causing Arnhem to have evening darkness beyond the measures of the Universe. I understand everything has been used against me instead of administering Democratic justice in the concept of Human rights.
Typical Dutch treat after being caught in the act of stealing by Government officials to destroy the one entry the books enabling their system to execute automated recording triggered by admin rendered inoperable by any form of . The exercise however thus triggered has a control mechanism calibrating every step and administered in vain it happens
All in all, what seemed a good idea at the time, has turned out to be one of the worst decisions ever made. One of the problems was that, as mentioned before, the money they sold for was not invested in more council houses as promised. The second problem is that a lot of people that couldn’t afford to buy them had friends or family buy them for them and on their deaths they owned the properties. Hence we have a hoard of landlords who are making a killing letting these dwellings. Rental prices for landlords are governed by houses in that area, as soon as you get lots of private houses the prices rise, this means that the rental value is more. The upshot of this is that councils are now paying private landlords more money in rent than they charged themselves for properties they once owned.
Right to buy was a good idea in as much as it gave the council much needed funds from property where the tenants would have lived and occupied all their lives and so they could build more council housing to reduce the waiting lists.Unfortunately the government misused these funds and did not plough it back into housing and that is where it all went wrong.
At one point we needed the money, and this was one way of raising it. At the time it was the right thing. When Labour came in, the economy was in a better state and they should have reduced the scheme, and focused on creating more housing stock for councils to use, instead of councils having to use private landlords (which is naturally going to be more expensive in the long run) to house people.
IMO Nu Labour have ruined everything. No actually Maggie Thatcher ruined everything, Nu Labour just can’t fix it and its gone from bad to worse. Immigration laws (or lack thereof) have meant that numbers needing housing have risen so again they’ve mucked up the system. It’s a knock on effect. Less housing, more people coming into the country… No one can afford to buy privately, it’s just terrible.
The original idea was that as people stayed in them until they died there would come a time when none were vacant. So the good idea was to give them the right to buy and build more with the money. However Mrs T in her divine wisdom stopped councils using that money to build and it went back to central government.
There is nothing wrong with the right to buy idea, what is wrong is its implementation, the money raised by selling off property has been wasted instead of been re invested in new property, The lack of affordable homes now for those who are on low wages is testament to the failings of both local and central governments who policy decisions have led to the mess that is currently ongoing.
It was a very short term fix for councils. Now we see the shortages and problems for first time buyers getting on the property ladder and nowhere to go but private lets. I have 2 25 year olds still at home with no prospect of housing for some years. They continue to save but prices keep rising out of reach. Somethings gotta give soon. Do you think Thatcher saw this scenario ahead? I think she may have and did it to screw the working classes…paranoid ideas? Maybe aye, maybe naw…
Well you are kinda right, not entirely, see my family live in a council house that was bought and we had to buy it to be able to afford to give it the loft conversion it had. Plus more benefits owning it. Interesting query though.
Yes,
If you would ever get to see the appalling state of disrepair which councils do not get to grips with you would understand.
Party and brewery. Could not organise.
having privately owned houses on council estates helps to keep standards up. if it was left entirely to the councils most estates would be run down ghettos
Yes otherwise we would be paying even more Council Tax to maintain these houses.
Of cuorse if it was succefull.