Should council house rents be at normal market value?

[Tony]

There is very little public sector housebuilding these days anyway. Most social housing built is done so by the private sector and then handed over into public/social control.

 

This is the point. That still results in houses costing more than if you just handed the whole process over to the private sector. A rough estimate is that it costs HA's and LA's roughly 50% - 100% more to build than it would if the private sector was simply asked to "sell us 100 new homes".

[Wildcat]

This is the point. That still results in houses costing more than if you just handed the whole process over to the private sector. A rough estimate is that it costs HA's and LA's roughly 50% - 100% more to build than it would if the private sector was simply asked to "sell us 100 new homes".

 

What is your source for that estimate?

[Tony]

I have seen the tender returns for social housing and I know what it costs to build for the private market. Bear in mind that these are only the construction costs and that the public sector also has some extraordinary administration costs on top of this.

 

For interest, the public subsidy alone for the Park Hill refurbishment is about what the private sector could build brand new houses for.

 

This interesting aside is all a little off topic though so I'll leave it there.

[chem1st]

I have seen the tender returns for social housing and I know what it costs to build for the private market. Bear in mind that these are only the construction costs and that the public sector also has some extraordinary administration costs on top of this.

 

For interest, the public subsidy alone for the Park Hill refurbishment is about what the private sector could build brand new houses for.

 

This interesting aside is all a little off topic though so I'll leave it there.

 

Parkhill is no longer social housing.

 

About £160000 per property will have been spent.

 

Public subsidy is over 20 million I believe? 20k pp

 

A loss of 750 properties and 20 million £.

 

It's unbelievable.

[Tony]

Public subsidy is over 20 million I believe? 20k pp

I understand that it's nearly triple that when direct and indirect public funding is added up.

 

As you say,

It's unbelievable.

[Conrod]

A family living in a privately rented house should have the option of living in a council house.

Buy why? Why shouldn't they be able to look after thenselves without wanting a cheapie at the taxpayer's expense?

[chem1st]

Buy why? Why shouldn't they be able to look after thenselves without wanting a cheapie at the taxpayer's expense?

 

We the collective people of the state build a house, which is then rented out to a member of the state. The rent eventually pays for the cost of the house, be it in 10, 20, 25, 50 years.

 

It is not a cheapie it's just rational behaviour.

 

Or we could do as we do now.

 

Build state housing, sell it off on the cheap, and have the owners rent it back to the state via housing benefit. At a far greater cost than state housing or all.

 

We should of course remove the right to buy, or at least the discounts involved.

 

We should not be forcing people to rent off of private individuals at the expense of the economy.

[Tony]

We the collective people of the state build a house, which is then rented out to a member of the state. The rent eventually pays for the cost of the house, be it in 10, 20, 25, 50 years.

You mean a mortgage?

[chem1st]

I understand that it's nearly triple that when direct and indirect public funding is added up.

 

As you say,

 

Some 60 millions to lose 750 council properties.

 

60 millions is the budget to build 1000 council properties!

 

 

We could have kept parkhill as it was and built a 2nd one!

 

And have +1000 properties.

 

Rather than negative 750.

 

 

I don't want to turn this into a bring back the death penalty thread, but by eck there is a few out there worthy!

[chem1st]

You mean a mortgage?

 

Kind of.

 

Better for the state to pay a mortgage to itself for a property it owns to house its citizens, than one to a private bank via a mortgage to a private individual for it to house citizens.