The housing crisis (London and beyond)

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I wonder how he even came to own it. Must have been worth a lot for a long while.

I just Googled it out of curiosity and got this from 2016: Landlord fined after 18 people found crammed into multi-million pound flat

Obviously the fines just a cost of doing business for this wanker.

 

[pbsmooth]

I just Googled it out of curiosity and got this from 2016: Landlord fined after 18 people found crammed into multi-million pound flat

Obviously the fines just a cost of doing business for this wanker.

I see he was fined for not having a licence. And yet here we are...

 

[jimbarkanoodle]

I bought a flat here at the start of the year. If councils cant afford to build and maintain new social housing anymore, then perhaps they can give away the land to Community Land Trusts like the one i benefited from.

Worth noting though it wouldnt be a replacement for council housing, these homes do require a 10% deposit, and means to pay the mortgage, therefore be in full time employment. Its more filling the gap for working people who can no longer afford their own home in London due to prices.

‘We made a nuisance of ourselves’: how Citizens House created real affordable housing – for ever!

After years of campaigning, 11 homes have been built as London’s first community land trust – protected in value from the volatile property market. We meet the people who made it happen

www.theguardian.com

 

[marty21]

I bought a flat here at the start of the year. If councils cant afford to build and maintain new social housing anymore, then perhaps they can give away the land to Community Land Trusts like the one i benefited from.

Worth noting though it wouldnt be a replacement for council housing, these homes do require a 10% deposit, and means to pay the mortgage, therefore be in full time employment. Its more filling the gap for working people who can no longer afford their own home in London due to prices.

‘We made a nuisance of ourselves’: how Citizens House created real affordable housing – for ever!

After years of campaigning, 11 homes have been built as London’s first community land trust – protected in value from the volatile property market. We meet the people who made it happen

www.theguardian.com

That sounds like a great scheme, house prices in London are insane, Im lucky , I am old, and bought in 1997 when someone on an average salary could buy a home at a reasonable price.

 

[MickiQ]

Riding around on the Underground over the weekend I saw more than one poster that proudly proclaimed that London has entered a golden era of council home building. Any comments?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Riding around on the Underground over the weekend I saw more than one poster that proudly proclaimed that London has entered a golden era of council home building. Any comments?

compared to early 80s onwards, maybe, on the basis that going from pretty much non existent to minimal is an improvement...

 

[marty21]

Riding around on the Underground over the weekend I saw more than one poster that proudly proclaimed that London has entered a golden era of council home building. Any comments?

Wouldn't call it golden , but my Council is building more , when I started there 14 years ago , it didn't do new build. The golden era was post war , if we replicated that , then I'd agree with the golden era description.

 

[Pickman's model]

Riding around on the Underground over the weekend I saw more than one poster that proudly proclaimed that London has entered a golden era of council home building. Any comments?

Golden for who tho

 

[pbsmooth]

Selling the air above houses now... "Vacant possession". You couldn't make it up.

Check out this Property for sale on Rightmove

Property for sale in Airspace At 47 Northcote Road, London, SW18 for £10,000. Marketed by Phillip Arnold Auctions, Phillip Arnold Auctions

www.rightmove.co.uk

 

[MickiQ]

Contrary to popular opinion you don't own the airspace above your property but you do have some rights up to a certain height. This is essentially a scam. What they're selling is the possibility of building another floor on the top of an existing building IF the council grants planning permission which isn't automatic.
If you don't get it you've been fiddled out of £10K.

 

[pbsmooth]

Contrary to popular opinion you don't own the airspace above your property but you do have some rights up to a certain height. This is essentially a scam. What they're selling is the possibility of building another floor on the top of an existing building IF the council grants planning permission which isn't automatic.
If you don't get it you've been fiddled out of £10K.

Sounds about right. I think next door has done it so probably more likely although then it seems a bit cheap frankly for a developer.

 

[hitmouse]

UK renters offer tenant CVs and year’s rent upfront to try to secure a home

Once in a property, renters can find landlords monitoring their behaviour and making demands about washing and heating

www.theguardian.com

Also, crossposted from a Manchester thread, this short documentary can go here as well:


"Over the last couple of decades, the face of Manchester has been irreversibly changed. Skyhigh tower blocks are thrown up in the blink of an eye. Cultural spaces, pubs, and cherished communities are surrounded by slick skyscrapers playing host to luxury housing that the majority of Mancunians will never be able to afford.
Homelessness is still a visceral reality in Manchester, social housing has all but dissapeared, and the level of deprivation is exactly the same. So, who is this new skyhigh luxury housing for?
Developer profits are at obscene levels and young professionals are flooding into the city. This documentary follows a group of resident activists in Hulme, who aren't accepting the mass gentrification and displacement of the relentless private rental machine."

 

[Puddy_Tat]

anyone seen this today?

"Mayor launches major new programme to convert private housing into council homes – with an aim for 10,000 additional council homes in the next decade"

Mayor launches major new programme to convert private housing into council homes – with an aim for 10,000 additional council homes in the next decade

Mayor launches major new programme to convert 10,000 private housing into council homes

www.london.gov.uk

my initial reaction is

especially if (as some are suggesting) it's diverting money that was intended for building new homes in to buying existing ones (including buying back former council homes that were sold off cheap that will presumably be bought back at market price)

can see something to be said for getting more homes available at social rent

but on its own, it won't increase the supply of housing at all, seems like a chance for existing BTL landlords to cash in, and what happens to the existing private tenants (some of whom may not qualify for social housing, especially if they are single people) when they get evicted so the place can be let to whoever's on the housing waiting list?

 

[pbsmooth]

Never seen a report like this before. Some interesting points but overall BoE seems fairly unbothered by recent developments.

The buy-to-let sector and financial stability

Quarterly Bulletin 2023

www.bankofengland.co.uk

 

[Karl Masks]

 

[Sue]

And your thoughts on this 50 minute YouTube video, Karl Masks? It's really tedious when people just post videos (especially really long videos) without comment.

 

[Karl Masks]

And your thoughts on this 50 minute YouTube video, Karl Masks? It's really tedious when people just post videos (especially really long videos) without comment.

Really? I posted because I thought people would be interested. Not sure why you'd find it tedious.

Personally I think the landlord guy is a performative clown for the tik tok age. I don't think he will ever understand the systemic nature of the problem with capitalism. He believes he's providing a service and that he's doing society a good thing by using his capital, as it were, to meet a need.

 

[Sue]

Really? I posted because I thought people would be interested. Not sure why you'd find it tedious.

Read what I said:

And your thoughts on this 50 minute YouTube video, Karl Masks? It's really tedious when people just post videos (especially really long videos) without comment.

Personally I think the landlord guy is a performative clown for the tik tok age. I don't think he will ever understand the systemic nature of the problem with capitalism. He believes he's providing a service and that he's doing society a good thing by using his capital, as it were, to meet a need.

Doesn't sound like a good way of spending 50 minutes tbh.

 

[Elpenor]

Doesn’t the FAQ say something about a short summary of what it is in the video you’re linking to?

 

[pbsmooth]

A fair bit on Lambeth and Brixton.

‘All my friends have moved’: how UK cities have been hollowed out by housing price rises

In central London, schools are closing as low and middle-income families are priced out. But some suburbs have more young people than they can afford. And the pattern is being repeated across the UK

www.theguardian.com

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

Really? I posted because I thought people would be interested. Not sure why you'd find it tedious.

Personally I think the landlord guy is a performative clown for the tik tok age. I don't think he will ever understand the systemic nature of the problem with capitalism. He believes he's providing a service and that he's doing society a good thing by using his capital, as it were, to meet a need.

he would be if he were to offer housing at low rental costs which I doubt he is.

 

[Karl Masks]

he would be if he were to offer housing at low rental costs which I doubt he is.

Indeed. But he won't see the reality of the mechanism that's made him very rich

 

[pbsmooth]

taken with a large pinch of bollocks but still

George Freeman quit as minister as he 'couldn't afford' mortgage George Freeman quit as minister as he 'couldn't afford' mortgage

 

[Elpenor]

This podcast was mentioned in the guardian, it is sponsored by Lloyds must admit I’ve not listened yet but I will give it a whirl at some point

 

[hitmouse]

Might as well post this here as well:

Free Webinar: Taking action against rogue landlords: securing rent repayment orders and enforcing housing standards | Events | Garden Court Chambers | Leading Barristers located in London, UK

[5.2.2024. 5.00pm - 6.30pm] This webinar is brought to you by the Garden Court Housing Team.

www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

In this seminar, speakers will consider the effective use of Rent Repayment Orders in challenging rogue landlords in the private sector, evaluate weaknesses and further need for reform. They will particularly consider how the Renters (Reform) Bill and other pieces of new legislation propose to enhance tenants' rights, by the extension of the powers of tribunals in making Rent Repayment Orders and other regulatory reform to improve housing conditions, and enhance tenants’ rights.

Further, speakers will consider the development of the effective use of disrepair and fitness for human habitation claims within the county court in civil actions. There will be an update on housing conditions legislation and case law, including “Awaab’s Law”, the implementation of which is currently under consultation.

Will probably be even longer than 50 minutes, but might be a better use of time than watching someone debating with a dickhead landlord?

 

[hitmouse]

Eviction resisted in Glasgow this week:

 

[bcuster]

What if public housing were for everyone?

Local governments are trying a new way to address the housing crisis.

www.vox.com

 

[A380]

Just getting worse

Rents soar in towns as tenants priced out of cities Rents soar in towns as tenants priced out of cities

 

[Elpenor]

I believe a lot of people priced out of Bristol have moved to Newport.

 

[Dystopiary]

Amnesty UK are saying:

31% of children aged four and under are admitted to hospital each year with respiratory conditions caused or exacerbated by damp & mould.

34 children died between April 2019 & March 2022 with homelessness & temporary accommodation factors contributing to their vulnerability, ill health or death.

29% of children in the UK are living in poverty.

90% of low-income households on Universal Credit are without essentials.



Also:

100,000 more households living in temporary accommodation
- a 5% increase (year-on-year at the end of 2022).

A 26% increase in number of people rough sleeping
(year-on-year at the end of 2022).

A 37% increase (3 million) parcels distributed by the Trussel Trust to food banks
(year-on-year 21/22 to 22/23).

Before Our Eyes: Short Film with Olivia Colman & Adrian Lester