In 1979, more than 4 in 10 British people lived
in a council house, yet today that figure is only 1 in 12, whilst according to Shelter 65% of families on the Council House
waiting lists had been on those lists for more than a year and 27% had been
waiting for more than five years.
One solution to the housing crisis has always been for the local authority to build more homes, yet should the state provide people with secure and dependable places to live – or is that an out-dated point of view? To look at this objectively, let’s take a step back.
After WW2, both Tory and Labour governments were building council houses in massive numbers, yet it might surprise you to know that more Council houses were built per year under Tory Governments than Labour ones between the years 1945 and 1970.
Everything changed in 1979, when Margaret Thatcher delivered the right for Council tenants to buy their Council House (called the Right To Buy Scheme). Interestingly, Right To Buy was a Labour Party idea from one of Labour Manifestoes of the late 1950’s (although they lost to the Tory’s). Mrs Thatcher’s idea was based on massive discounts and 100% mortgages for those buying … but this was the real issue that has come back to bite us all these years later! Half the proceeds of the property sales went back to Westminster and the other half went back to the local authority – but the Councils half could only be spent on reducing their debt – not to be spent on building more Council houses.. hence why we have a shortage of council houses.
In 2011, Central Government gave local authorities the power to limit people’s entitlement for social housing (aka Council Housing), hence removing those people that did not have an association or link to the locality.
Today, in Stoke on Trent, the Council House Waiting List has dropped by 61.8% since 2011, meaning
Interesting times ahead for the Stoke on Trent Property Market!
One solution to the housing crisis has always been for the local authority to build more homes, yet should the state provide people with secure and dependable places to live – or is that an out-dated point of view? To look at this objectively, let’s take a step back.
After WW2, both Tory and Labour governments were building council houses in massive numbers, yet it might surprise you to know that more Council houses were built per year under Tory Governments than Labour ones between the years 1945 and 1970.
Everything changed in 1979, when Margaret Thatcher delivered the right for Council tenants to buy their Council House (called the Right To Buy Scheme). Interestingly, Right To Buy was a Labour Party idea from one of Labour Manifestoes of the late 1950’s (although they lost to the Tory’s). Mrs Thatcher’s idea was based on massive discounts and 100% mortgages for those buying … but this was the real issue that has come back to bite us all these years later! Half the proceeds of the property sales went back to Westminster and the other half went back to the local authority – but the Councils half could only be spent on reducing their debt – not to be spent on building more Council houses.. hence why we have a shortage of council houses.
In 2011, Central Government gave local authorities the power to limit people’s entitlement for social housing (aka Council Housing), hence removing those people that did not have an association or link to the locality.
Today, in Stoke on Trent, the Council House Waiting List has dropped by 61.8% since 2011, meaning
2,497
families are waiting for a Council House
in Stoke
on Trent
Interestingly
though, if our local Council House Waiting List had changed by the same amount
as the national one, the waiting list figure would be 3,990 instead, because
nationally Council House waiting lists are only 38.6% lower than 2011.
So where
are these Stoke on Trent families all living and what does this mean for Stoke
on Trent homeowners and Stoke on Trent Landlords?
Quite
simply, private landlords have taken up the slack and housed all those people that
were on the waiting list. This is
important as more and more tenants are stopping longer in the Private Rented
Sector - the average length of time of a tenant stays in the same property is
now 4 years. Renting is becoming a choice for many, as the years of this
Millennium roll on. So much so, would it surprise you to know that renting a
house can be more expensive than buying it as we have these ultra-low mortgage
rates and 95% mortgages freely available?
Rents
in the Rental Sector in Stoke on Trent will increase steadily during the next
five to ten years. Even though the Council House Waiting List has decreased, the
number of new council and housing association properties being built is at a 75-year
low. The government campaign against buy to let landlords together with the
increased taxation and the banning of tenant fees to agents will restrict
supply of private rental property, which in turn using simple supply and demand
economics, will mean private rents will rise – making buy to let investment a
good choice of investment vehicle again (irrespective of the increased fees and
taxation laid at the door of landlords).
..and
for home owners (and landlords) Stoke on Trent property values will remain
strong and stable in the medium term, as the number of people moving to a new
house (and selling their old property) will continue to remain limited, meaning
that due to lack of choice and supply Stoke on Trent buyers will have to pay
decent money for any property they wish to buy (especially ones in good
locations and presented well).
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