PRS critical HFI report – A Time for Good Homes

PRS critical HFI report – A Time for Good Homes

14:29 PM, 31st July 2018, About 6 years ago 15

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The Housing & Finance Institute have released a report titled A Time for Good Homes – a discussion paper on meeting the needs of the generation that housing forgot. Click Here to read the full report.

The report is Critical of the Private Rental Sector stating:

“Over the last 15 years the type of housing that is provided across the country has been dramatically reshaped. This shift is harming the life chances, health, financial prosperity and wellbeing of millions of
people. That must change.

In the recent past around 90% of households have been housed in traditional forms of stable housing, namely home ownership and social renting. This changed after 2002 with a sustained growth in private rented housing. The result is that proportionally there are 2.4 million fewer households with access to a Good Home than 15 years ago. This is the Good Homes Gap and it affects around 6 million people.”

The reports definition of a ‘Good Home’ is displayed below:

The paper then sets out a ten point plan to “reverse the damage caused by the explosion in private renting and to make sure that millions more people can access an affordable, stable home that supports job mobility and creates a springboard for opportunity.”

Natalie Elphicke OBE, Chief Executive of The Housing & Finance Institute, writes a summary in conservativehome:

“Over the last 15 years Britain has embarked on a housing experiment that has failed six million people, the majority of whom have been the young and the least well off. The experiment has been the state-supported explosion in private renting.

“Successive Labour and Conservative governments have overseen a doubling of private rented housing since 2002, at the expense of both home ownership and social housing. Just 15 years ago, people would have been expected to own their own home or live in social housing. Now, too many have little choice but to live in the private rented sector.

“These reduced levels of home ownership and social renting have been harmful to family and financial stability. Furthermore, as well as damaging family stability and opportunity, the high levels of private renting have failed to promote labour market mobility. Fewer people are moving than in previous decades. The doubling of the private rented housing sector has not resulted in greater labour market flexibility.”


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Neil Patterson

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14:32 PM, 31st July 2018, About 6 years ago

A Good Home! They want something from the PRS they can't or don't want to provide themselves.

Marie

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15:46 PM, 31st July 2018, About 6 years ago

Flexibility: How can you be flexible if you are a home owner and you have to move for job reasons, but the housing market happens to be in a downturn and you cannot sell? I would have thought the PRS is excellent for flexibility, especially for young people just starting out who move a lot for job reasons.
Stability: I also cannot agree to home ownership being more stable. What happens if interest rates were to go up really high again, as has happened in the past, and you cannot afford to pay your mortgage? Unlike a tenancy agreement the mortgage rate could go up at any time.
Most landlords are happy for their tenants to stay long term if they pay the rent and look after the property. Why would you voluntarily have a void period if you don't need to.
Affordability: What happens if you live in a leasehold flat, most of the new properties being built in towns these days, and your managing agent decides to double the annual service charge to £5,000? (its happened to me)

Monty Bodkin

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15:49 PM, 31st July 2018, About 6 years ago

"We know social housing can provide a good home"
That old chestnut.
Offer free social housing on one of the old council sink estates and tenants would still be queueing up to rent quality private rented sector properties.
How quickly we forget (or more likely, have never lived on a council estate).

Faux tory socialist idealism.

Old Mrs Landlord

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16:56 PM, 31st July 2018, About 6 years ago

I would also challenge the assertion that social housing provides more stability when the published figures show that more tenants are evicted from the social sector than from the PRS. A glance at private rental properties on the popular property portals will reveal the high standard offered by today's landlords, who of course want to attract and keep good tenants. It would be totally counter-productive for landlords to allow their investment to fall into disrepair or to evict good, paying tenants without cause. And what's this about the state-subsidised PRS? As a private landlord I have never received a subsidy, only the removal of a legitmate business expense! If a private landlord takes on a tenant in receipt of benefits, that is a subsidy to the tenant, not the landlord. With the housing element of benefits lagging so far below market rents, it's a case of landlords subsidising tenants who can't pay a higher rent.
(If the name of the author seems familiar that's because Natalie is the wife of the MP Charlie Elphicke who was accused of sexual harassment.)

terry sullivan

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8:54 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 31/07/2018 - 16:56
go to high court croydon--lists of repossessions by rsas are massive

Gromit

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9:07 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

Natalie Elphicke ably demonstrating her total lack of understanding/knowledge of the rental sector.

Monty Bodkin

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9:16 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

https://www.ft.com/content/b94cd0d2-95a8-11e4-a390-00144feabdc0

January 12, 2015

Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, said there was a strong case for ministers to call a halt to relief on mortgage interest, for example, and look at other perks such as wear and tear allocations.

Monty Bodkin

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9:27 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 01/08/2018 - 09:16https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto
The Conservatives will always be the party that keeps tax as low as possible. It is our firm intention to reduce taxes on Britain’s businesses.
So what happened with section 24?

Gromit

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9:30 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 01/08/2018 - 09:16Total lack of knowledge about the rental sector and the basic economics of business is endemic in the Elphicke household.
Or could it be just be some vested interest at play?

Gromit

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9:54 AM, 1st August 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 01/08/2018 - 09:16In 2015 "Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, said there was a strong case for ministers to call a halt to relief on mortgage interest, for example, and look at other perks such as wear and tear allocations.
“Most people would say that is money which could have gone to people owning their own homes rather than investors,” he said. “It underlines that tax breaks that buy-to-let investors get would be better off used to help first time buyers to own their own homes.”
In the same article Alex Hilton, director of Generation Rent, said it was wrong that landlords were able to “cream generous tax breaks” at a time when tenants were enduring the effects of government spending cuts
I've been doing something badly wrong all these years as I've never received a single tax break let alone a generous one.

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