Property News · December 21, 2017

Britain’s broken housing market needs radical solutions | Letters


There is no political will to deal with the UK’s housing problems, says Michael Miller. Developers are not part of the solution but part of the problem, writes Keith Howells. Plus letters from Jeremy Beecham, John Rigby, Martin Jeffree and David SimpsonAs your report points out, this housing crisis has been obvious for some time, is getting worse and has been largely caused by deliberate political decisions (‘Ordinary’ working families are falling into homelessness trap, 15 December). But many steps could be taken to increase the supply of affordable housing. Here are some: reduce or remove the right-to-buy discount for council houses, increase the term before they can be sold on, and sell them with covenants that prevent their being sold as buy-to-let properties; proceeds of council house sales should go back to councils, which should be allowed to borrow to build replacements; do not introduce right to buy for housing association stock (it damages their economic viability); insist that all privately rented housing is licensed and inspected for habitation fitness; lengthen the term of ensured tenancy; introduce rent controls; more controversially, capital gains higher than a certain percentage on house sales could be taxed and the proceeds used to fund social housing.If the government truly wished to deal with the housing crisis and its wider social and economic damage – it curbs social mobility for one – they could take steps to do so. But I’m sure they have neither the inclination nor the imagination to do it, largely because it would show up the folly of their neoliberal ideology.Michael MillerSheffield Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Britain’s broken housing market needs radical solutions | Letters

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