The 3,500 subsidy that is being paid to everyone regardless of income I guess..
Aw yeah I took the thread off track a bit with private rents
Is this subsidy classed as a benefit then?
Personally I simply can't see the justification for removing the subsidy, council properties are not very well built or maintained, added to that many are in quite undesirable areas (not all granted).
It will simply add to the pressures facing struggling families, why is it acceptable to keep hiking living costs in line with extortionate private rents?
As I said in Leeds a prefab worth around 100k or less is £83pw how will they justify raising that?
Just because they do it in Canada or wherever doesn't make it right, it was never the premise of council housing that they were only for people on very low incomes initially, they were for everyone.
Forcing people to pay over the odds for substandard housing is wrong., local councils will become the new 'slum landlords'.
Spoiler:
Local authority housing grew after World War I; 2 million houses were built before 1939, over 4 million more after the war. Initially, council housing was intended for the "working classes". The main justification for its development after 1919 was the provision of housing for general needs, but after 1930, it became focused on people displaced after slum clearance. The stigma of council housing probably dates from this period: council estates were built in locations where they would not adversely affect the values of owner-occupied property.
After World War II, references to the 'working classes' were removed. The replacement of the housing stock, particularly through clearances, became council housing's main role, with mass building. The subsidies favoured industrial, high-rise building, though this was often more expensive than the alternatives. Quantity was more important than quality. [4]
Housing policy changed after 1970, when political support for council housing was withdrawn by the Conservatives. In the 1970s and 80s, council housing acquired a more residual role, and is now more concerned with welfare issues and special needs. General subsidies have been progressively withdrawn; for most tenants they have been replaced by Housing Benefit. The sale of council housing to tenants at a discount reduced the numbers, but in due course the government found that few remaining tenants could afford to buy on any terms. The policy of reducing the role of council housing subsequently focused on mass transfers of stock to Registered Social Landlords. [5] As the role of council housing has diminished, Housing Associations have been encouraged to take over the limited opportunities for development.
10-10-2015, 08:36 PM
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