The right to buy: Council Housing?

Question

Has this been a positive benefit for people and made their lives much better in many different ways or has it been an utter disaster which has caused peoples lives to be lot worser in many diffferent ways. Any comments or opinions regarding this please.

Answer 1

It reduces the number of council properties available.  I for one will not be buying my flat as I am aware that the waiting list is quite long (NOTHING to do with immigration, note!) and it will be needed for the next tenant when I, if I ever, manage to move out.

Councils could, of course, help solve this by building more properties to rent.  But almost none have been built for years.

Answer 2

my sister in law has just bought hers (i know at the wrong end of a recession) and already she has gone into neg equaty so any discount she earned has been swallowed up

Answer 3

Its no doubt positive for those who do buy their propertys but it is bad for those looking for housing or to be re-housed, some with desperate vulnerable needs, children etc and the housing have no stock due to selling the houses on.

Up my way theres a ban on buying your house until 2012 as the houses were going down at a dramatic rate, the council would not be in existence today. The same goes for all small housing associations x

Answer 4

I agree with Kat. I think it's a massive slap in the face to all of us who pay our taxes religiously in order to house these people so that they can then go on and sell and earn a quick buck at my expense. Disgraceful!

Answer 5

this should never have been allowed, council housing is for people who cant afford to buy and you should not be allowed to buy your property. now the lists are longer and not enough properties are being built to cover for the sold properties. i myself have seen so many people make a lot of money from buying their council house cheap and selling it on at full price and then getting re-housed by the council, its disgusting. I'm going to give you a star for this interesting question, and one that hit a raw nerve with me.

Answer 6

I agree with Kat, my MIL who had 2 kids before she was 16, never worked was given a council house, she married a guy at 30 who worked and he bought the council house for £25,000. It's worth 160,000. Who benefits?? DH and I had to buy our first home because we had no children and struggled in the early days.

Council houses should be there for people who need them (not just single mothers) and when they are able they should buy their own home or just rent the council house.

Loads of single/young couples can not get on the property ladder so why should a single mum get a council house when they can't. Madness.

Answer 7

The people who did buy their council house have done really well out of it.

Paying rent is like throwing money out of the window - yes, you have somewhere to live but once you move out (after paying thousands of pounds over the years), all you have done is line someone else's pockets.

By buying the council house you recoup some of that money, and you normally get a good price, which means that can start to think about 'moving up' the property ladder...

I don't see how it could've made people lives worse, unless they forgot about budgetting for their own maintenance and repairs...

Answer 8

I would say positive  All the labour luvvies posting on this question fail to realise that any labour govt do not like the working class to own their own homes, pure and simple.