Right to Buy: buying your council home.

[#1]

Here in Wales the right to buy is being phased out. 

Never supported it myself as it was just a Thatcherite wheeze to get more votes, which of course it did and brought forth that new breed of a working class Tory. Having said that, had my parents not bought their council house back then I would not have benefited when they passed on, and their by now very expensive south London home was sold - so what are we doing here, shutting the door after the horse has bolted? Seems like it to me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-39234618

[#2]

there could be an argument that should someone buy a house from the local council then the council could get first refusal to buy it back when the owner dies, and only then if the council/HA doesn't want to buy it back then it can be passed on via inheritance.

thus the the original tenant gets the benefit of ownership during their life, but there is no automatic right of inheritance.
much like how the hereditary peer rule was trimmed down in the house of lords.

it's one possible solution that would undo the whole "right to buy" fiasco.

[#3]

I'd often thought there should be a rule that a council house could only be sold when there was a new house being added to the stock thus ensuring the dire shortage we currently have did not occur.

[#4]

Wasn`t it part of the idea, that to sell off the "old" housing stock, would give councils the money to invest in new build, more modern properties... and at the same time give long term tennants the security of knowing they "could" own the home  and at a "reduced" cost compared to similar property on the market at the time.

seems to me that council have just squandered the money and turned over the left overs to Housing associations, thereby giving up on the less fortunate people, who are homeless, or require "council housing".. due to low income.

Shame on them.... 

[#5]

@shutter I seem to recall that councils were prevented from investing the proceeds of right to buy sales in building new social housing - I always thought this was wrong.

[#6]

Some people got a very good deal from buying their council house, if you lived in certain parts of the country where prices are sky high or you got a good sized garden/ semi detached property you were quids in but equally many council houses were on large estates in run down areas so little point in buying as it's unlikely you could sell it.

The selling of Council Houses sounded like a good idea at the time but has resulted in problems now.

Perhaps the rent charged on council houses should be based on the total income coming in to the household which might force some people on high incomes to move into the private sector.

I also understand changes have been made that should the person who rents the property die then it does not automatically pass on to other family members in the house.

[#7]

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gleneagles wrote:

I also understand changes have been made that should the person who rents the property die then it does not automatically pass on to other family members in the house.

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that would be harsh!
so if a single parent dies and the children are still living at home then they are made homeless?

if all the people living in the house are on the "rent book" then they all are entitled to live there regardless of who dies.

[#8]

I don't think children would be allowed to live in a council house on their own, and I guess there is a minimum legal age where you would be allowed to be the tenant.

As for harsh, sure I agree with you but understand this has or will be implemented in the near future

[#9]

children could be over 18 though, and lived there all their life.
i can't see any council dumping them out on the street if they are a registered tenant of the property.

[#10]

@chenks76

Re: Buying, inheritance, and selling back to the council. If that were the case then there would be little point in buying the house as an investment for the future. Why buy if for example you or yours could not benefit from any profit made?

[#11]

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chenks76 wrote:
children could be over 18 though, and lived there all their life.
i can't see any council dumping them out on the street if they are a registered tenant of the property.

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The council do have a responsibility for children in this situation and social services are required to find them emergency accommodation or similar up to a certain age, after that, age 18 they are more or less on their own.

[#12]

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Minivanman wrote:

@chenks76

Re: Buying, inheritance, and selling back to the council. If that were the case then there would be little point in buying the house as an investment for the future. Why buy if for example you or yours could not benefit from any profit made?

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it seems an earlier reply of mine didn't post, so here it is again.
however, i said that the right to buy should have been similar to a leasehold where you have the right to own for a set period of time (lets say for example, until your death).
and once the leasehold runs out it reverts back to council ownership.

[#13]

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Minivanman wrote:

Here in Wales the right to buy is being phased out. 

Never supported it myself

Having said that, had my parents not bought their council house back then I would not have benefited when they passed on

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You don't support others having a home but its different when its you that benefits right?

There is a word for people like you, begins with H and ends with crite. The only reason I'm not using it is because i can't remember how to spell it and i can't be bothered to look it up either.

[#14]

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gleneagles wrote:

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chenks76 wrote:
children could be over 18 though, and lived there all their life.
i can't see any council dumping them out on the street if they are a registered tenant of the property.

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The council do have a responsibility for children in this situation and social services are required to find them emergency accommodation or similar up to a certain age, after that, age 18 they are more or less on their own.

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if there any evidence that shows a council removing people from a house that have lived there all their life just because the original person to rent it (say 40 years ago) has died? i'd be interested to see if this has actually happened.

[#15]

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chenks76 wrote:
there could be an argument that should someone buy a house from the local council then the council could get first refusal to buy it back when the owner dies, and only then if the council/HA doesn't want to buy it back then it can be passed on via inheritance.

thus the the original tenant gets the benefit of ownership during their life, but there is no automatic right of inheritance.
much like how the hereditary peer rule was trimmed down in the house of lords.

it's one possible solution that would undo the whole "right to buy" fiasco.

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But if the council buy it back then they're buying it back from the estate of the deceased - so one way or another the descendants of the owner will still inherit rather well from the deal anyway. Your post makes no sense from my POV unless i'm missing something.