Raise the voting age!

as a Housing Manager once said to me: "We've just got left with the rubbish tenants"

Is that quite right?

I thought it was that local authorities had to first pay off their debts with the proceeds, after which they could fund new housing, if they wanted?

I'm pretty sure receipts went straight to the Treasury.

This is one article saying this:

I know someone who recently bought a maisonette. She had come into inheritance money and would have moved out if there was no discount. All she needs to do is say she's living there for the next 5 years and she's made a substantial profit.

Found:

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

OK. I wasn't paying attention. Even less likely if they were homeless with a Tory government?

I was curious where the build money originated. Council borrowing?

I think second homes could have been more heavily taxed without losing votes as Labour unlikely to refund it:-) My mother actually had a holiday cottage in Southwold! The farm and farmhouse was a tenanted so I suppose not strictly a second home.

A number of acts allow LAs to borrow money for investment. Most of that money goes to commercial/industrial property.

In article snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

But Labour could have changed the rules and let them keep the money, or they could have scrapped sale altogether, but they didn't.

It didn't. The problem with council housing was that family members "inherited" the tenancy regardless of need or income so the stock never came back into the pool. Thatcher was concerned that giving the proceeds to councils to build more houses would simply kick the cycle off again.

Spoken like a true socialist.

In article snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

But many council tenants were not poor, cf Bob Crowe.

Of course. If you expect to pay an adult in full time work less than a living wage you must also expect to subsidise where they live. You can't keep down a full time job sleeping rough. Now such subsidised housing is rather rare, the subsidy goes to private landlords via UC etc. And that private landlord has to make a profit.

Government have a great deal of control over what councils can and can't do.

And prevented them being used in the future by the very people they were built for.

Family of private tenants also inherited the right to carry on living there. But I'm sure a good Tory like you would prefer them to go to the workhouse.

Very sad the way you Tories think only you are entitled to be well off. Everyone else should be poor.

Do try and keep up, bert. All 'council house' rents being subsidised ended a very long time ago.

The need for a statutory minimum wage is the criminal aspect. Historically wages were determined by demand rather than statute. Housing was less of a problem then too.

Quite, all because of the housing shortage. I recall in the early 2000s that if you had a house for rent you had more enquiries from estate agents asking if you would consider selling than from prospective tenant.

Then we had the various Accession treaties courtesy of John Major and Tony Bliar and we now get whingeing about profits Landlords make. You really couldn't make it up.

Quite, even labour controlled governments.

Quite where the well heeled wanted cheap labour from Eastern Europe or retired so it no longer mattered.

The houses were still there and available for all. There is housing benefit for those that can't afford the rent.

Council and HA housing is still available for the most vulnerable.

For those that can rent themselves the market is more diversee, with more properties being available for let than ever before.

Part buy schemes are also now more widely available.

And in many cases, housing went with the job. Not too good if you lost that job for whatever reason. A way of making employees tow the line regardless.

There isn't a housing shortage everywhere. If jobs get concentrated in one part of the country people migrate there leaving empty houses behind.

I can't justify the desire by some to make a profit out of everything. As a mantra.

Glad you are so confident of that. Now try getting out more. When it is allowed.

It certainly is round here.

Quite, perhaps the retired should be forced to live there rather than blocking housing for those who do. As they wouldn't have to endure a 2 hour drive to a job.

As an aside I have often wondered by business rates weren't made a stronger function of local house prices, to encourage businesses with a keen eye on costs relocate. Also stamp duty is a further cost of job relocation.

Your desire for many landlords was to stay in the EU to bolster housing demand as well as provide a cheap source of labour.