[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

The forced sale of properties at below market value would be "artificially" meddling with the housing market and that is always a bad idea. Also, in an ideal world, it would all be people genuinely buying their family home to live in but in all likelihood (as happened with council right to buy) what you'd actually get is an influx of people buying for reduced cost and then almost immediately selling on at full market value for profit.

Also, like I said, we're increasingly in a country where most people are in private rentals and too much heavy handed government interference is likely to prompt those who are buying property as an asset to simply sit on an empty property, rather than renting it out at all. Worse still, the announcement of any such legislation coming into effect is HIGHLY likely to prompt a huge number of private landlords to sell up before it's enacted, which not only is likely to collapse the housing market over night, but would also see untold numbers of private renting families losing their rented home.

The proposals referred to tenants who had lived in the property for the required length of time, therefore those who rent as they aren't in a position to buy or are on a short term lease ( as most are) will be unaffected, it is of course only a proposal at this stage, you can't immediately sell on council housing once bought which is why most buy to let.
People already hoard empty property which is why the govt introduced the 50% council tax increase on empty homes... not that I believe that's been enacted anywhere as yet :/