Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
How a Community in North London Is Fighting for the Housing It Needs
Re St Ann's Hospital site
See https://novaramedia.com/2019/05/27/how-a-community-in-north-london-...
Tags for Forum Posts: GLA, housing, st ann's redevelopment
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bob Ruggles on
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Sure Haringey has a few Million hiding in its Housing Budgets from past Council Housing Sales
Got to be cheaper than buying in Land and building much need Community housing
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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It didn’t work that way Rob. Local authorities got 50% of the money from right-to-buy sales, the rest going to the Treasury.
For a long period local authorities were not permitted to use right to buy income to build new homes. This was changed (not that long ago but can’t remember the date) to building one new home for each one sold nationally (that is not necessarily in the same area the sale took place). By then the damage had been done.
Almost 1.5 million homes have been purchased under the right-to-buy scheme, some at a discount of 70% with valuations way under market value. In London taking as little as 30% of the sale price of a massively under valued property gives enough money to build precisely nothing.
Also, in London something like 40% of homes purchased under the right to buy are not lived in by the buyer but are rented out at a very large profit.
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I purchased my Ex Council House on Noel Park Estate. Many years ago Which was originally built by private Estate company for transport Workers. My Grand Father was a Engine Driver
Sure records will show that the Council Purchased them for around £3,500 Each I paid more than that, so the council must have gained a fair sum. As sure the majority of Noel Park is now under private ownership
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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on
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Income from rents in perpetuity will one day return 100% of all the money it costs to build council homes, thereafter it's a perpetual income stream that can be used for more council homes.
Governments can borrow more cheaply than anyone else and often do over the very long term. I think it was only quite recently we paid off the debt we owed the USA after massive loans during WWII.
So it makes sound financial sense to invest in housing, it's profitable and people who live in decent housing contribute much more to our collective wealth than those punished by poor living conditions, who have enough to do just making it through the day.
All that is missing is the political will and that emerges from the political climate, which is heavily influenced by what people think.
So, to help build the consensus to improve things, please tell people you think more council homes at council rents should be built!
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Permalink Reply by Neil on
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Councils' and housing associations across the country have a poor record of maintaining and repairing council homes. Their repair service is costly and inefficient. Hundreds of tenants complain about repairs not being done until a councillor or MP steps in. In Haringey you can see so many ugly and cheaply built blocks of social housing which are depressing for people to live in and they create ghettos of poverty.
A sad factor is that when a family live in a council home and pay rent for a long period until they die or move out, they get nothing from the property to pass to their children. They may have paid rent for fifty years yet leave with nothing to show for it. It is better that residents pay a mortgage for 25 years and then own the property to pass on to their family. Property owners are much better at repairing and improving their home. Remember, mass open door immigration reduces the stock of housing available for local people on a low income to rent.
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Hi Neil!
>>across the country
So how many are there and how many of them do you mean to compare, and against what 'standard'? Do you have any figures or is this just an impression you have received? The idea that somehow private providers are any better is easy to dismiss - yes it's true that, if you have money you can buy more, but private estates are expensive and probably very poor value for money.
How many ugly blocks are there here, compared to the many that are well run and nice to live in? Where in our borough are the 'ghettos of poverty' you claim exist here, exactly?
>>they get nothing
Have you ever lived in a council home or talked to anyone in depth who has? You write as if Council Housing were such a bad thing it should be abolished but even the right wing government is pouring billions into it. Hard to see why you are correct and them wrong. Investment in providing decent homes for those in need pays us all back. From 1960-80 almost half of UK homes were built by councils - we can do that again, so tin hats on, they're coming!
In the UK (and Europe) huge numbers of people rent and many of those simply have no option - they don't qualify for mortgages and even if they did, they couldn't afford the huge prices property is being sold at. Many countries provide extensive protection to those renting council homes - it's a form of security people count on. They know they can pass it on to their families so they get the security of home ownership at a price they can afford.
That's worth it's weight in gold and is a way people help each other - renting with security helps other people on low incomes rent with security. Even the Tories are acting to protect the right of tenants to stay in council homes for longer, having stripped that from them some time ago, so there's cross-party agreement but not with you, Neil.
We live in a mixed economy. Some people have less advantage than others. You can decide the poor 'deserve' it and let them rot, as the Americans tend to do, or you can recognise that everyone is valuable and intervene when the less well off get treated badly. This is a difference between left and right. Up to you but the majority round here lean leftwards.
As to your 'mass open door immigration' comment I find it hard to believe that you meant that in the way it reads - sounds like pure prejudice, hateful even. Many studies have shown that immigrants contribute far more than they cost, so the more of them the better. Even newspapers like the Sun have stopped claiming immigrant's housing rights take precedence over others just because their foreign - tosh of the highest order m8.
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I have lived in my house for 70 years. Got to admit that Council Maintenance was not best . These days most of the update / Servicing is carried out by Contractors. Roof and Windows
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So Neil, you would extend the right to buy to private sector renters too? After all, the people renting there also end up with nothing to pass on to their children after decades of paying rent - unless their landlord evicts them for no reason whatsoever.
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