Under 25's to lose housing benefit ?

[greenstiles]

al we moved from a small village where it was getting over a 1/3 holiday homes and increasing and prices going way up on rent and buying prices behond the local wages. I feel quite bitter cos now we live in a noisy maisonette at 3 times the rent and trouble with consistant work, living costs. Where I was before was great countryside, no crime, but no future.

It's lovely if you have the money to buy a house then a 2nd one to have holidays in, i would like that too.

But at the expence of destroying whole communities ? is it fair, natural progression and change ?

I certainly agree that councils have a responsibility to secure affordable local housing, but is it their fault if there are no or fewer jobs or only low pay ?

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

To turn this on it's head, what moral justification is there for public taxes to subsidise any persons housing?

I would, of course, except the seriously disabled and injured squaddies from any exemption if I were Lord Protector

It's as much an economic chicken-and-egg as it is a social one. sure, rents are high and many youngsters currently need the assistance ro support those costs. Remove that assistance and the rental and housing amrket will have no choice but the devalue themselves or else collapse entirely as no new blood comes into the market.

As long as someone else is paying some of it there is no incentive for the housing providers to drop their prices to a relistic level that the market can genuinely support, so while slkipping they youngsters money helps in the short tem it perpetuates a groweng problem in the long term.

Rather thn just bin it I'd be inclined to phase it out over a number of eyars to the adjustment isn't sudden, lessens the pain toe the public and gives the amrket time to adjust accodingly.

That will in turn help keep a lid on inflation, which helps keep the BoE base rates low, which helps out the rest of us who have mortgages, or buy any type of consumer product.

Long term there is little doubt that it will be beneficial. It is how any transition is managed that will dictate the level of pain to both the market and the consumer.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

PS, you can see why I need a new keyboard!

 

[greenstiles]

I'd vote for you.

 

[greenstiles]

in Wales we briefly had to claim some housing benefit on a low rent, but they used a band system where they would pay you the going rate, but if you rent was less you were allowed to keep the rest !

I phoned them up to be told, yes we know,but you can keep and do what you want with the rest,about £15.00 a week.

Think it was easier and more cost effective staff / accountant wise than paying out lots and lots of different amounts....crazy

 

[poweredbypies]

Fancy and wastful opening cerimonies ie olympic games waste huge amount of tax payers money in just one day........edit just part of that one day. Cup of tea and a slice of cake and welcome to the UK is more than enough

Dont forget this was all arranged and set up by the previous bunch of arse that were in. But they are all as bad as each other.

 

[pete_mcc]

Until we stop selling off all our authority owned housing stock we will have an issue. Home owning is not a right, but everyone must have the right to live in a safe home. Affordable housing should never leave authority or housing association ownership. The moment houses enter the market they stop being homes and become 'investments'. This would also stop the destruction of rural communities where private homes become holiday homes or homes for the few that can afford them rather than the majority who need them.

We need to look to America where they don't have our obsession with home owning, where renting is the norm and where rent control exists to stop excessive profiteering by landlords.

I would much rather the tax I pay had a lasting legacy rather than lining the pocket of a slum landlord - that legacy has to be housing stock owned by the country for the use by generations to come

 

[greenstiles]

Well said

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Having lived and worked in the US, that depends very much where you live. Big cities are much like ours, mainly rented, but in the smaller towns in the provinces like where I was in Pennsylvania it's mainly homeowners. Though I bucked the trend by renting!

 

[pete_mcc]

I have lived there and in many other countries too but have never found the cultural 'need' to own as strong as in the people of this country.