Social housing tenants earning over £30K will have to pay up to the market rent

[Butch Willykins]

I can. Social housing costs are "true" market value. Privatised rent is inflated to make profit. I pay (in social housing) the same roughly for a 1 bed flat that someone with a mortgage would.

I don't want to gloat or cause a row, but I'd imagine my mortgage on a 3 bed terrace in Hove is less than the rent on a 1-2 bed flat in the same area. It's bonkers and its unfair.

 

[drew]

Surely the answer is to move them out of social housing so it is available for those that genuinely need it. Would also be interested to see the actual figures to show how majy this actually affects! Bit like the IHT changes, is a great soundbite but actually affects very few people!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

What's a market rent? Out here in Firle, where a high proportion of housing is rented from a private landlord (the Firle Estate), that landlord sets the rent in line with the company's assessment of the value of the tenants to the local economy. Families who work locally and have children who attend local schools pay less (much less) than people who just fancy a country cottage. There are sound market forces that lie behind this - something rather more subtle than the "Grab what you can, landlord" thinking that I suspect lies at the heart of Gideon Osborne's definition of a "market rent".

 

[Chicken Run]

I totally agree. We have lost sight of what the primary purpose of a home is....which is a home.

Did I imagine it or do you rent your UK home out and if so do you rent it to local authority tenants or privately?

 

[Chicken Run]

I don't want to gloat or cause a row, but I'd imagine my mortgage on a 3 bed terrace in Hove is less than the rent on a 1-2 bed flat in the same area. It's bonkers and its unfair.

That depends when you bought your 3 bed house?

 

[beorhthelm]

https://twitter.com/michaellondonsf/status/617623501244137472

this isnt an explaination, just trying to pretend to change perception.

 

[BensGrandad]

£4 an hour and 3 kids....

Not quite his take home pay is about £1100 per but the point is surely to pay 65% of that in rent without council tax etc is wrong and the system and levels need looking at at both ends of the scale.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

The problem is the market is broken. We haven't built enough homes where people want /need to live for decades. We have to deal with this issue and all successive governments have done is fiddle around the edges with schemes like help to buy and this latest from Osborne

 

[WATFORD zero]

About bloody time to - there are people paid more than me that get subsidised rent yet when I was out of work the council told me to eff off when I asked them to pay my mortgage interest ( apparently if I'd been renting then they would have paid that though ).

Was that the mortgage interest on your home, your BTL or both that you wanted them to pay ?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Was that the mortgage interest on your home, your BTL or both that you wanted them to pay ?

Given I'd sold my BTLs by then I'll let you work it out smart arse.

 

[Postman Pat]

Whatever

Edit - unless its market rate its subsidised. simples

Can you explain this? You can't just say "there isn't a subsidy" when there clearly is.

A subsidy would imply that the council are somehow contributing to make up the difference in rent, but they are not.

Say it costs £1000 p.a. to maintain a council property and contribute towards local housing officers, and rent is £500 p.c.m. - the council are actually net to the tune of £5000 p.a. where is the subsidy? They don't have any mortgage costs to pay and the tenants pay other bills.

Council rents have been rising above inflation for some time now to start to bring them in to line with market rates anyway.

 

[Ernest]

Wonder how Mr & Mrs Hardworking Family feel today, both earn £15k a year and now face 10% of their council rent being increased as well as losing their Child Tax Credits , no wonder the Tories were so keen to abolish the Child Poverty results.

Still knowing the Tories and their competence I've a feeling this will descend into another omni shambles, another poorly thought out policy using soundbites like 'council house rent subsidy' that the Groovey Gang and Blue Boys lap up not realising the damage this does to peoples lives.

 

[alfredmizen]

People seem to be discounting the possibility that a lot of council tenants have probably paid for their property several times over.

 

[Notters]

People seem to be discounting the possibility that a lot of council tenants have probably paid for their property several times over.

I don't see how that's relevant? The same is true for private renters (but somewhat more so). Social housing should be available for those who can't afford private rental. Surely anyone who can afford market rates should no longer be allowed to stay in council property?

 

[LamieRobertson]

I don't see how that's relevant? The same is true for private renters (but somewhat more so). Social housing should be available for those who can't afford private rental. Surely anyone who can afford market rates should no longer be allowed to stay in council property?

Do you think that it was they should be proposing rather than charging more? How would it be administered etc

 

[LamieRobertson]

Wonder how Mr & Mrs Hardworking Family feel today, both earn £15k a year and now face 10% of their council rent being increased as well as losing their Child Tax Credits , no wonder the Tories were so keen to abolish the Child Poverty results.

Still knowing the Tories and their competence I've a feeling this will descend into another omni shambles, another poorly thought out policy using soundbites like 'council house rent subsidy' that the Groovey Gang and Blue Boys lap up not realising the damage this does to peoples lives.

''We support hard working families'' I'm sure i heard someone called Dave mention that ..hmmm

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I don't see how that's relevant?

If Cameron wants to play the market rate game then why not fix it to mortgage repayments instead? Then social housing users can get decreasing rent with free accom once they have lived at an address for 20 odd years. Seems fair, and certainly more aspirational to link it to mortgages?

 

[beorhthelm]

If Cameron wants to play the market rate game then why not fix it to mortgage repayments instead? Then social housing users can get decreasing rent with free accom once they have lived at an address for 20 odd years. Seems fair, and certainly more aspirational to link it to mortgages?

and presumably free rent if there is no mortgage?

 

[Justice]

Whilst Iain Duncan Smith lives rent free in a £2m home with four spare bedrooms.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

and presumably free rent if there is no mortgage?

You got it. After all, its only fair that social housing should mimic the real world.

And maybe some social house users can own multiple social houses and cream a few quid off their neighbours?