Sir K claims "a budget for Working People", ha!!!

No, we've never lived in Nirvana, but it was a lot more likely that people applying to the council would be housed, and vulnerable groups took priority. An immediate council house may not have been guaranteed, but councils had an obligation to find housing, and obviously that was much more likely when there were more houses available.

About the same time as Margaret thatcher was selling hugely discounted homes off, Lady Shirley Porter leader of westminster council decided to sell off council properties for as low as £1 if I recall correctly. The Tories had been at serious risk of losing the local elections but after these giveaways unsurprisingly had a massive majority at the next elections. Lots of new Tory converts. Job done, as far as she was concerned.
She was fined about 12 million a much reduced amount nowhere near the 70 million odd which was lost by her irresponsible behaviour.
Subsequently the council bought a few hundred of these properties back, at market value; a double loss and great expense, to us the public, presumably.

Should Rayner have consulted a crystal ball before buying her council home?
Perhaps it would have told her how her life would pan out, all these years later.

MissAdventure

Should Rayner have consulted a crystal ball before buying her council home?
Perhaps it would have told her how her life would pan out, all these years later.

I'm not suggesting that at all - quite the reverse. I don't blame AR at all. She did what was right for her at the time, which is what we all do.

The problem (as is often the case) was with the policy, not the people who benefited from it.

Wasn’t she a single mother with a disabled child at the time? And she has pretty much devoted her political life since then helping people.

I wasn't talking to you, Doodledog 😊
It was meant for people who bring up the fact that she bought her place, as if it was a crime.

Doodledog

No, we've never lived in Nirvana, but it was a lot more likely that people applying to the council would be housed, and vulnerable groups took priority. An immediate council house may not have been guaranteed, but councils had an obligation to find housing, and obviously that was much more likely when there were more houses available.

That is true. The number of council homes exceeded the number of privately rented homes for the first time ever in the late 1960s, and numbers continued to rise until Thatcher.

But we’re not living in the 60’s or even the 80’s are we?
I think that council housing stock should stay that way, never selling them off, but even so the population living here now has exceeded what anyone could have thought.People arrive here legally and illegally but all need to be housed.

MissAdventure

I wasn't talking to you, Doodledog 😊
It was meant for people who bring up the fact that she bought her place, as if it was a crime.

No crime it was allowed, and I think it still is but it’s high time it wasn’t.

Oreo

But we’re not living in the 60’s or even the 80’s are we?
I think that council housing stock should stay that way, never selling them off, but even so the population living here now has exceeded what anyone could have thought.People arrive here legally and illegally but all need to be housed.

The population was growing in the sixties and seventies too though Oreo. It’s the combination of housing stock being sold off and lack of investment in building additional housing that has brought us to where we are now. One major bonus of increasing council housing is that it will result in reduced rents in the private sector too, which will, help all tenants.

What happened to the schemes whereby you bought your home bit by bit, still renting some of it?

We need schemes like this put into place, or other ways to help normal people have a hope of ever getting out of the rental trap

MissAdventure

What happened to the schemes whereby you bought your home bit by bit, still renting some of it?

We need schemes like this put into place, or other ways to help normal people have a hope of ever getting out of the rental trap

They are still available in our County MissA I have several friends whose children are doing this.

The flats on the big hill (named after food) are 50% owned/rented.

Do they not require family to pay a huge deposit or something, grannygravy?

Someone I know looked at helpingtjeor adult children out, not found they couldnt afford to so what was expected of them.

It was another area,though.

My nephew has shared ownership of his house. I think there can be issues with reselling, but it has suited him so far.

The more of those kind of schemes the merrier, I'd say.

It might mean am end to ridiculous rental prices, too.

silverlining48

About the same time as Margaret thatcher was selling hugely discounted homes off, Lady Shirley Porter leader of westminster council decided to sell off council properties for as low as £1 if I recall correctly. The Tories had been at serious risk of losing the local elections but after these giveaways unsurprisingly had a massive majority at the next elections. Lots of new Tory converts. Job done, as far as she was concerned.
She was fined about 12 million a much reduced amount nowhere near the 70 million odd which was lost by her irresponsible behaviour.
Subsequently the council bought a few hundred of these properties back, at market value; a double loss and great expense, to us the public, presumably.

I always had immense respect for the late Duke of Westminster after Lady Porter's gerrymandering in Westminster - and it was gerrymandering, all the blocks of flats she sold were in Labour dominated wards

Some early 20th century Duke of Westminster had built flats in the borough with the specific aim of housing the 'working classes' or some such phrase. At some time these flats had been handed over to Westminster Council to run.

These flats were among those Lady Porter intended to sell, but the late Duke of Westminster took her to court, claiming that to sell the flats to a developer breached the terms by which the flats were given to the council by his ancestor, in which case theagreement was null and void and the flats should revert to the Duke to let out for their intended purpose. He won the case, and those flats are still council housing.

Lady Porter never paid the fine levied on her. Before it happened she went to live in Israel, where she could not be pursued for the money in the courts. she tied up most of her money in trusts for other family members. When she returned to the UK in 2006 she claimed assets of £300,000, and after much argument the fines were reduced to £12 million, which she paid.

MissAdventure

Do they not require family to pay a huge deposit or something, grannygravy?

Someone I know looked at helpingtjeor adult children out, not found they couldnt afford to so what was expected of them.

It was another area,though.

Not the ones on the hill, a very small deposit was required.

Oh they are purpose built, I'd imagine?
I've always thought I'd quite like to live in that specific area.

It reminded of the island, as it was years ago.

Quite rural and overgrown.

MissAdventure

What happened to the schemes whereby you bought your home bit by bit, still renting some of it?

We need schemes like this put into place, or other ways to help normal people have a hope of ever getting out of the rental trap

Those schemes are still running , certainly in my area. Who though can afford to pay a mortgage and bills, then rent on top for the share you don't own.

I suppose it depends on the price of it all.
I can't imagine a one wage family being able to afford it at all, unless it was all done at rock bottom costs.

MissAdventure

I suppose it depends on the price of it all.
I can't imagine a one wage family being able to afford it at all, unless it was all done at rock bottom costs.

My nephew got one when his wife was pregnant and he had just started a business. They would have struggled to get a mortgage in the circumstances, but all going well their income will rise when the business starts to pay more and his wife goes back to work.

They started with something like a 25% share and the plan was to increase that as time goes by. I don't know whether that has happened as it's none of my business, but it has meant they have a house in a good area with at least some stake in the value, even if it remains at 25%. I'm not sure who owns the rest of the share in the house (possibly a HA or even the council) but the rent is controlled somehow, so he can plan without there being sudden rises and the young family can't be evicted at the whim of a landlord.

The main disadvantage is that he can't adapt the house (eg extend or remodel) without agreement, but otherwise it seems to be working well.

I’m not sure of the details or the ratio of rent to buy but the house my daughter is trying to buy in St Albans is part rent part buy it’s £620,000 and she has had to put over £100,000 down as deposit…
Three bedroom mid terrace in quite a new estate, has shops and good schools in the catchment area which is one of the reasons my daughter is going for it….
she has been accepted for it by the housing association, but is not one to count her chickens…

Part rent, part buy schemes are available widely across the country. Most are run by Housing Associations and most Housing Associations offer part rent/part buy.

Obviously, like any house purchase, a deposit is required but most purchasers have mortgages, just like most buyers.

I might add, almost all are new build and will be on houseing estates where the HA will have bought a block of houses of f plan.