Housing

[Stairway 2 7]

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Germany Landlords can't raise the rent in the first 12 months and they cannot raise the rent above 15% over 3 years. Also rent cannot be more than 20% higher than comparable households in the area which is calculated every 4 years. I'm not sure of house prices over there though and whether landlords get tax relief or pay the rip off LBBT we have here.

Shelter have previously said they want this policy and are against a rent cap.

As Shelter says
"Rent levels are high because there are too many people who have to rent, and not enough homes available. Rents can only be reduced sustainably by increasing the overall supply of all types of homes, so that more people can get a social home or buy their own with a mortgage, and fewer private renters have to compete over each available home."

I find it utterly bizarre people (usually who have a home themselves) are against house building. We need all homes badly if we want prices to drop because er economics
https://blog.shelter.org.uk/2014/02/are-rent-caps-the-answer/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.shelter.org.uk/2015/05/a-rent-cap-in-name-only/%3famp=1

[lapsedhibee]

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I find it utterly bizarre people (usually who have a home themselves) are against house building.

Usually quite rational, no? People who are eventually going to downsize want there to be as large a gap as possible between the value of their big house and their wee house, and that is best achieved if the value of both stays high, rather than both lowered by a glut of houses. Rational self-interest.

[JimBHibees]

I see a lot of chat here about the lack of house building. I stay in West Lothian and there has been enormous amount of vast new estates being thrown up all over the place. Also other large estates in east Lothian both Musselburgh and next to A1 near the pans. Assume not enough particularly social housing.

[Ozyhibby]

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I see a lot of chat here about the lack of house building. I stay in West Lothian and there has been enormous amount of vast new estates being thrown up all over the place. Also other large estates in east Lothian both Musselburgh and next to A1 near the pans. Assume not enough particularly social housing.

We need all type of housing and all types of tenure. There needs to be more flats built in the city of Edinburgh as well.


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[Pretty Boy]

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Usually quite rational, no? People who are eventually going to downsize want there to be as large a gap as possible between the value of their big house and their wee house, and that is best achieved if the value of both stays high, rather than both lowered by a glut of houses. Rational self-interest.

I think that is the system working exactly as it was intended to work.

I'm not convinced mass home ownership was ever meant to last more than a generation or 2 and relying on peoples inherent desire to protect their own equity/financial well being as a tool to control that was quite probably a big part of the plan. A bit of inter generational conflict that sees the proles fighting among themselves is a decent distraction from focusing on the real 'enemy'.

The fact the state managed to shed responsibility for huge swathes of social housing and put the replacement into the hands of the private sector is a nice little bonus. The slow but steady shift to housing being provided by for profit associations either as stand alone or in partnership with the more typical not for profits is a sad but inevitable next step.

[superfurryhibby]

https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sal...t-plaza-leith/

These properties are not serving the housing needs of those on low incomes. We can build on every green space, destroy many of the qualities that made Edinburgh a good place to live and still prices won't come down.

Does anyone, other than those with a vested interest, really believe that building more flats, houses in the private sector will make homes more accessible? It's a myth.

The answer is more social housing. This country has done it before, it can be done again. It needs political will, sadly lacking in the mainstream parties. They can find the money when they need to.


How much did the banking crisis cost the UK taxpayer? https://www.theguardian.com/politics...anking-bailout

Last December, the National Audit Office published a second report into the costs of the bail-out. That report concluded:

The scale of the support currently provided to UK banks has fallen from a peak of £955bn to £512bn, but the amount of cash currently borrowed by the government to support banks has risen by £7bn [to a total of £124bn] since December 2009.

But the NAO also concluded that costs would continue for years to come (i'll bet it did).

[Pretty Boy]

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https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sal...t-plaza-leith/

These properties are not serving the housing needs of those on low incomes. We can build on every green space, destroy many of the qualities that made Edinburgh a good place to live and still prices won't come down.

Does anyone, other than those with a vested interest, really believe that building more flats, houses in the private sector will make homes more accessible? It's a myth.

The answer is more social housing. This country has done it before, it can be done again. It needs political will, sadly lacking in the mainstream parties. They can find the money when they need to.


How much did the banking crisis cost the UK taxpayer? https://www.theguardian.com/politics...anking-bailout

Last December, the National Audit Office published a second report into the costs of the bail-out. That report concluded:

The scale of the support currently provided to UK banks has fallen from a peak of £955bn to £512bn, but the amount of cash currently borrowed by the government to support banks has risen by £7bn [to a total of £124bn] since December 2009.

But the NAO also concluded that costs would continue for years to come (i'll bet it did).

I've always felt when it comes to new builds there is a huge gap in the market for modest 2 and 3 bedroom homes at genuinely affordable prices. It's like people know but just won't accept that a huge number of people desperate to get on the property ladder are young to middle aged couples with school age children. People who can't afford 'luxury 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes and apartments in one of Edinburgh's most sought after neighbourhoods' or for whom a 1 or 2 bedroom flat just isn't suitable. I suppose the obvious retort is that beggars can't be choosers but wanting a compact 2 or 3 bedroom house that is semi detached or a maisonette hardly screams 'ideas above their station' to me.

There are 'affordable' home schemes in Edinburgh where the price range is set at between £230K and 370K. Who exactly is that affordable to? A couple on the average salary in Scotland (£27000ish) would be stretched pretty much at the extremes of what any responsible lender would give as a mortgage at the lower end of that scale. Of course wealthy people need homes to but don't market something as 'affordable' when it is quite clearly aimed at those on salaries significantly above what the average person earns.

It's the same with schemes like mid market rent. They were nominally aimed at couples looking to save for a deposit, as a short term measure to allow them to save on rent and thus save for a deposit. It's farcical; there are MMR flats behind the Jack Kane Centre that are charging £1100-1300 a month for a 2 bedroom flat. Again who is that aimed at that? Who is going to have enough disposable income after shelling out £1300 on rent and a further £150+ on council tax to make any meaningful progress on saving for a 5-10% deposit on an 'affordable' £300K home?

No one in a position to actually influence things wants there to be a massive shift when it comes to housing. It's why we have seen a lot of schemes that help a few people into ownership (and I'm sure those people are exceptionally grateful for them) but are largely focused on maintaining high prices and high value for existing owners. In all the years politicians of various shades have been sloganeering about 'creating generation buy' home ownership continues to stagnate overall and drop in those under 40. Only a fool would think that isn't by design.

[JimBHibees]

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I've always felt when it comes to new builds there is a huge gap in the market for modest 2 and 3 bedroom homes at genuinely affordable prices. It's like people know but just won't accept that a huge number of people desperate to get on the property ladder are young to middle aged couples with school age children. People who can't afford 'luxury 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes and apartments in one of Edinburgh's most sought after neighbourhoods' or for whom a 1 or 2 bedroom flat just isn't suitable. I suppose the obvious retort is that beggars can't be choosers but wanting a compact 2 or 3 bedroom house that is semi detached or a maisonette hardly screams 'ideas above their station' to me.

There are 'affordable' home schemes in Edinburgh where the price range is set at between £230K and 370K. Who exactly is that affordable to? A couple on the average salary in Scotland (£27000ish) would be stretched pretty much at the extremes of what any responsible lender would give as a mortgage at the lower end of that scale. Of course wealthy people need homes to but don't market something as 'affordable' when it is quite clearly aimed at those on salaries significantly above what the average person earns.

It's the same with schemes like mid market rent. They were nominally aimed at couples looking to save for a deposit, as a short term measure to allow them to save on rent and thus save for a deposit. It's farcical; there are MMR flats behind the Jack Kane Centre that are charging £1100-1300 a month for a 2 bedroom flat. Again who is that aimed at that? Who is going to have enough disposable income after shelling out £1300 on rent and a further £150+ on council tax to make any meaningful progress on saving for a 5-10% deposit on an 'affordable' £300K home?

No one in a position to actually influence things wants there to be a massive shift when it comes to housing. It's why we have seen a lot of schemes that help a few people into ownership (and I'm sure those people are exceptionally grateful for them) but are largely focused on maintaining high prices and high value for existing owners. In all the years politicians of various shades have been sloganeering about 'creating generation buy' home ownership continues to stagnate overall and drop in those under 40. Only a fool would think that isn't by design.

Excellent post it is a scandal how difficult it is for young people to get on the property ladder or even a reasonably priced rented one.

[Stairway 2 7]

We need all homes built 3,4 beds, student accommodation, flats, social housing.

We have one of the smallest amount of empty homes in Europe and an explosion of 30yo and under now living with their parents. Add in one of the highest net immigration in Europe and where are these people going to move into.

We need an enormous amount of houses built but no political party is interested.

[superfurryhibby]

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I've always felt when it comes to new builds there is a huge gap in the market for modest 2 and 3 bedroom homes at genuinely affordable prices. It's like people know but just won't accept that a huge number of people desperate to get on the property ladder are young to middle aged couples with school age children. People who can't afford 'luxury 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes and apartments in one of Edinburgh's most sought after neighbourhoods' or for whom a 1 or 2 bedroom flat just isn't suitable. I suppose the obvious retort is that beggars can't be choosers but wanting a compact 2 or 3 bedroom house that is semi detached or a maisonette hardly screams 'ideas above their station' to me.

There are 'affordable' home schemes in Edinburgh where the price range is set at between £230K and 370K. Who exactly is that affordable to? A couple on the average salary in Scotland (£27000ish) would be stretched pretty much at the extremes of what any responsible lender would give as a mortgage at the lower end of that scale. Of course wealthy people need homes to but don't market something as 'affordable' when it is quite clearly aimed at those on salaries significantly above what the average person earns.

It's the same with schemes like mid market rent. They were nominally aimed at couples looking to save for a deposit, as a short term measure to allow them to save on rent and thus save for a deposit. It's farcical; there are MMR flats behind the Jack Kane Centre that are charging £1100-1300 a month for a 2 bedroom flat. Again who is that aimed at that? Who is going to have enough disposable income after shelling out £1300 on rent and a further £150+ on council tax to make any meaningful progress on saving for a 5-10% deposit on an 'affordable' £300K home?

No one in a position to actually influence things wants there to be a massive shift when it comes to housing. It's why we have seen a lot of schemes that help a few people into ownership (and I'm sure those people are exceptionally grateful for them) but are largely focused on maintaining high prices and high value for existing owners. In all the years politicians of various shades have been sloganeering about 'creating generation buy' home ownership continues to stagnate overall and drop in those under 40. Only a fool would think that isn't by design.

Good post PB, mirrors many of my own thoughts.

We were once sold the "dream" of home ownership so the Tories could flog our social housing stock on the cheap. Now we have a generational housing crisis whereby young people in work cannot buy property in the communities where they grew up. Instead they are forced into a cycle of rental which consumes a significant part of their incomes. The only winners here are the people who see property as a commodity, something to make profit from. I'm not talking individual landlords here, more corporate investment (like the 285 new flats being built solely for rental in Fountainbridge or the vast swathes of student flats appearing all over the city, like the development proposed and opposed at Dalton's scrappies on Salamander St (I wonder if the Living Rent movement and the many individuals who oppose this are Nimby's?).

[superfurryhibby]

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We need all homes built 3,4 beds, student accommodation, flats, social housing.

We have one of the smallest amount of empty homes in Europe and an explosion of 30yo and under now living with their parents. Add in one of the highest net immigration in Europe and where are these people going to move into.

We need an enormous amount of houses built but no political party is interested.

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...ousing-3966840

More than 9000 empty homes in Edinburgh, I wonder why that can be?

Do you have a link to the stats on empty homes across Europe? I suppose it would only be meaningful if compared to cities of a similar size.

"More than 4,500 properties in Liverpool have been empty for at least six months, recent government figures show". https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news...homes-21234082

"There are currently 2641 long term-empty homes in Glasgow, and the Local Housing Strategy 2023-28 has a target of 1800 empty homes being re-occupied over that period" https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=30758

" At a full council meeting earlier this week, Coun Mike Levery asked a series of questions on empty homes in Sheffield and he was told the total number of empty homes in the A-H tax band range was 6,922 at the end of 2023"-

https://thesouthyorkshirescoop.com/2...ys-councillor/

[Ozyhibby]

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https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...ousing-3966840

More than 9000 empty homes in Edinburgh, I wonder why that can be?

Do you have a link to the stats on empty homes across Europe? I suppose it would only be meaningful if compared to cities of a similar size.

"More than 4,500 properties in Liverpool have been empty for at least six months, recent government figures show". https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news...homes-21234082

"There are currently 2641 long term-empty homes in Glasgow, and the Local Housing Strategy 2023-28 has a target of 1800 empty homes being re-occupied over that period" https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=30758

" At a full council meeting earlier this week, Coun Mike Levery asked a series of questions on empty homes in Sheffield and he was told the total number of empty homes in the A-H tax band range was 6,922 at the end of 2023"-

https://thesouthyorkshirescoop.com/2...ys-councillor/

Empty homes should be taxed to within an inch of their lives. Council tax should also be due when planning permission is granted to stop builders sitting on plots for years.


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[Stairway 2 7]

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https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...ousing-3966840

More than 9000 empty homes in Edinburgh, I wonder why that can be?

Do you have a link to the stats on empty homes across Europe? I suppose it would only be meaningful if compared to cities of a similar size.

"More than 4,500 properties in Liverpool have been empty for at least six months, recent government figures show". https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news...homes-21234082

"There are currently 2641 long term-empty homes in Glasgow, and the Local Housing Strategy 2023-28 has a target of 1800 empty homes being re-occupied over that period" https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=30758

" At a full council meeting earlier this week, Coun Mike Levery asked a series of questions on empty homes in Sheffield and he was told the total number of empty homes in the A-H tax band range was 6,922 at the end of 2023"-

https://thesouthyorkshirescoop.com/2...ys-councillor/

Yes I found it by going back on this thread.

Scotland has about 2% of homes lying empty that's thousands but only Switzerland and Iceland has less in Europe, England 3% Ireland 12%, Germany France 10%. Edinburgh is closer to 3%

https://www.gov.scot/publications/br...tland/pages/4/

Some graphs just to so how much further behind the rest of the world uk is for empty homes. Add into that we are expected to have net 400k immigration the next 5 years and ours will drop to the least in Europe

[Stairway 2 7]

Article on UK having one of the lowest amount of empty homes in Europe, therfore highest rents

If we were to match the EU average for empty homes per 100k in the UK, we would have to build 3.5 million homes, to match German speaking Europe we would need 5 million. This is for UK Scotland has 50% less available

We also have one of the lowest percentage of people owning second homes and lowest percentage of landlords in Europe, as discussed a few pages back

https://thecritic.co.uk/why-britain-...e-empty-homes/

[superfurryhibby]

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Article on UK having one of the lowest amount of empty homes in Europe, therfore highest rents

If we were to match the EU average for empty homes per 100k in the UK, we would have to build 3.5 million homes, to match German speaking Europe we would need 5 million. This is for UK Scotland has 50% less available

We also have one of the lowest percentage of people owning second homes and lowest percentage of landlords in Europe, as discussed a few pages back

https://thecritic.co.uk/why-britain-...e-empty-homes/

We've discussed this guy before. He is ultra right wing proponent of neoliberal social policy, not credible in my view.

Dr Kristian Niemietz is the IEA’s Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy at the IEA.

He studied Economics at the Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Salamanca, graduating in 2007 as Diplom-Volkswirt (≈MSc in Economics). During his studies, he interned at the Central Bank of Bolivia (2004), the National Statistics Office of Paraguay (2005), and at the IEA (2006). In 2013, he completed a PhD in Political Economy at King’s College London.

Kristian previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Berlin-based Institute for Free Enterprise (IUF), and at King’s College London, where he taught Economics throughout his postgraduate studies.

He is the author of the books A New Understanding of Poverty (2011), Redefining the Poverty Debate (2012), Universal Healthcare Without The NHS (2016) and Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies (2019).

[Stairway 2 7]

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We've discussed this guy before. He is ultra right wing proponent of neoliberal social policy, not credible in my view.

Dr Kristian Niemietz is the IEA’s Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy at the IEA.

He studied Economics at the Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Salamanca, graduating in 2007 as Diplom-Volkswirt (≈MSc in Economics). During his studies, he interned at the Central Bank of Bolivia (2004), the National Statistics Office of Paraguay (2005), and at the IEA (2006). In 2013, he completed a PhD in Political Economy at King’s College London.

Kristian previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Berlin-based Institute for Free Enterprise (IUF), and at King’s College London, where he taught Economics throughout his postgraduate studies.

He is the author of the books A New Understanding of Poverty (2011), Redefining the Poverty Debate (2012), Universal Healthcare Without The NHS (2016) and Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies (2019).

Dismiss his point if you want, what about the figures they are from Scottish government and the oecd. You asked where I got the figures that we have one of the least empty homes in Europe, we actually have one of the least in the world

Scotland has 2% of homes lying empty, Edinburgh 3%

Only Switzerland and Iceland are bellow Scotland according to the oecd. Germany, France, Ireland and the US all have 4 to 5 times more empty houses driving down rents.

We would need millions of empty homes to match the EU average.

Just look at the graph.

[superfurryhibby]

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Dismiss his point if you want, what about the figures they are from Scottish government and the oecd. You asked where I got the figures that we have one of the least empty homes in Europe, we actually have one of the least in the world

Scotland has 2% of homes lying empty, Edinburgh 3%

Only Switzerland and Iceland are bellow Scotland according to the oecd. Germany, France, Ireland and the US all have 4 to 5 times more empty houses driving down rents.

We would need millions of empty homes to match the EU average.

Just look at the graph.

I'll definitely dismiss views from someone who is a senior figure in ultra right think tanks and a proponent of healthcare without an NHS

Fair points about homes that are empty. However statistics aren't the full story. Britain has always had a greater incidence of reliance on the rented property (social and private sector) than comparable European countries, How does that influence those statistics? Does it really matter how many homes are empty in Lithuania or Poland? I'm not so sure about your statement about empty houses driving down rents. Are rents really cheaper in the likes of Dublin (comparable ?) and Edinburgh?

TBH, I'm only really interested in Scotland and the impact of gentrification and social cleansing in the communities I know best. Housing is only one, albeit significant, manifestation of massive and social, health and economic inequality. There are many others.

I'm much more interested to know why Edinburgh has 9000 empty homes. As the statistics I posted show, that is a significantly higher number than other British cities of a similar size (Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle). Is it because property and home ownership is more commoditised than in comparable cities. People buying just for investment, or do we have lots more minted people who live in their second homes? Given the lucrative nature of the rental market here, compared to those other cities, you would imagine our empty house numbers to be lower.....maybe they're all being air b'nb by tax avoidant ruthless capitalist pigs?

[Stairway 2 7]

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I'll definitely dismiss views from someone who is a senior figure in ultra right think tanks and a proponent of healthcare without an NHS

Fair points about homes that are empty. However statistics aren't the full story. Britain has always had a greater incidence of reliance on the rented property (social and private sector) than comparable European countries, How does that influence those statistics? Does it really matter how many homes are empty in Lithuania or Poland? I'm not so sure about your statement about empty houses driving down rents. Are rents really cheaper in the likes of Dublin (comparable ?) and Edinburgh?

TBH, I'm only really interested in Scotland and the impact of gentrification and social cleansing in the communities I know best. Housing is only one, albeit significant, manifestation of massive and social, health and economic inequality. There are many others.

I'm much more interested to know why Edinburgh has 9000 empty homes. As the statistics I posted show, that is a significantly higher number than other British cities of a similar size (Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle). Is it because property and home ownership is more commoditised than in comparable cities. People buying just for investment, or do we have lots more minted people who live in their second homes? Given the lucrative nature of the rental market here, compared to those other cities, you would imagine our empty house numbers to be lower.....maybe they're all being air b'nb by tax avoidant ruthless capitalist pigs?

Loads in Europe have a much higher percentage of renters like Germany where its the norm. They also have over 4 times the spare homes than Scotland, three times Edinburgh.

9000 sounds a lot but at 3% of homes free that would still be the third smallest of any oecd nation.

Uk has one of the lowest amount of landlords in Europe and people owning second homes so we can't really blame that for prices. What we do have is a fraction of the spare homes compared with every nation. Where are the youth living with parents going to move into when we also have massive immigration figures. It's a sellers market. The most simple of economics says bild more and the landlords have less power to charge what they want.

If we are expecting 400k net immigration per year we obviously need that as a minimum that but it should be nearer 1 million. We've been averaging close to 700k net migration and building 200k homes them wondering why house prices are rising 😆

[Ozyhibby]

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Loads in Europe have a much higher percentage of renters like Germany where its the norm. They also have over 4 times the spare homes than Scotland, three times Edinburgh.

9000 sounds a lot but at 3% of homes free that would still be the third smallest of any oecd nation.

Uk has one of the lowest amount of landlords in Europe and people owning second homes so we can't really blame that for prices. What we do have is a fraction of the spare homes compared with every nation. Where are the youth living with parents going to move into when we also have massive immigration figures. It's a sellers market. The most simple of economics says bild more and the landlords have less power to charge what they want.

If we are expecting 400k net immigration per year we obviously need that as a minimum that but it should be nearer 1 million. We've been averaging close to 700k net migration and building 200k homes them wondering why house prices are rising

That’s it in a nutshell. We either need less people or more houses.


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[Ozyhibby]

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I'll definitely dismiss views from someone who is a senior figure in ultra right think tanks and a proponent of healthcare without an NHS

Fair points about homes that are empty. However statistics aren't the full story. Britain has always had a greater incidence of reliance on the rented property (social and private sector) than comparable European countries, How does that influence those statistics? Does it really matter how many homes are empty in Lithuania or Poland? I'm not so sure about your statement about empty houses driving down rents. Are rents really cheaper in the likes of Dublin (comparable ?) and Edinburgh?

TBH, I'm only really interested in Scotland and the impact of gentrification and social cleansing in the communities I know best. Housing is only one, albeit significant, manifestation of massive and social, health and economic inequality. There are many others.

I'm much more interested to know why Edinburgh has 9000 empty homes. As the statistics I posted show, that is a significantly higher number than other British cities of a similar size (Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle). Is it because property and home ownership is more commoditised than in comparable cities. People buying just for investment, or do we have lots more minted people who live in their second homes? Given the lucrative nature of the rental market here, compared to those other cities, you would imagine our empty house numbers to be lower.....maybe they're all being air b'nb by tax avoidant ruthless capitalist pigs?

Dublin situation worse than here.


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[Andy Bee]

I passed by the Cala development today at Maybury, out of interest I looked up the prices and the cheapest 2 bed flat is £340k going upto £1.265m for a five beddy house. It'd be interesting to see the ratio of these flats purchased for private rental. They just screamed foreign investor rental properties to me and at that price I shudder to think the rent they would command. Edinburgh seems to be going the same as Manchester in building thousands of flats which are useless for families and less decent family sized homes, pension funds financing huge tower blocks solely for private rentals. It wasn't that long ago that we moved out of Edinburgh to West Lothian into a Scottish Special new build along with thousands of others and also witnessed LDC build 10's of thousands of affordable rental properties in Livingston so it's doable. Council yards in every town which created 1,000's of good well paid jobs for school leavers to upkeep the stock and it's all gone.

[superfurryhibby]

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Loads in Europe have a much higher percentage of renters like Germany where its the norm. They also have over 4 times the spare homes than Scotland, three times Edinburgh.

9000 sounds a lot but at 3% of homes free that would still be the third smallest of any oecd nation.

Uk has one of the lowest amount of landlords in Europe and people owning second homes so we can't really blame that for prices. What we do have is a fraction of the spare homes compared with every nation. Where are the youth living with parents going to move into when we also have massive immigration figures. It's a sellers market. The most simple of economics says bild more and the landlords have less power to charge what they want.

If we are expecting 400k net immigration per year we obviously need that as a minimum that but it should be nearer 1 million. We've been averaging close to 700k net migration and building 200k homes them wondering why house prices are rising ��

Looking at population and housing across the UK us very different from considering population and housing in Scotland. Clearly, England is a very different entity ( massive densely populated) to the other home nations and that creates a very skewed picture. Housing is a devolved responsibility, what applies to our 57 million neighbours doesn’t always translate to Scotland and it’s much less densely populated 5.5 million. The net migration stats you quote are hugely influenced by the scandalous social care sponsorship programme. It’s a temporary measure and I know it’s already beginning to unravel, with systemic issues with modern day slavery, totally **** care and of course the denial of a decent living wage to our non sponsorship social care staff

[Hibrandenburg]

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Dismiss his point if you want, what about the figures they are from Scottish government and the oecd. You asked where I got the figures that we have one of the least empty homes in Europe, we actually have one of the least in the world

Scotland has 2% of homes lying empty, Edinburgh 3%

Only Switzerland and Iceland are bellow Scotland according to the oecd. Germany, France, Ireland and the US all have 4 to 5 times more empty houses driving down rents.

We would need millions of empty homes to match the EU average.

Just look at the graph.

I'm not sure what the home ownership figures are in Germany and am on the bounce so no time to look, but there's definitely a cultural difference when it comes to owning your own home over here. Germans tend to move around more than Brits, I guess that makes renting more attractive than buying. I think the laws governing landlords and what standards they have to hold makes it less attractive as a business model too.

Like I said, just a gut feeling and happy to be corrected.

[Ozyhibby]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/p...utm_source=app

Everyone seems to thing council houses are the solution but surely not if they leave them empty?


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[MKHIBEE]

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I think that is the system working exactly as it was intended to work.

I'm not convinced mass home ownership was ever meant to last more than a generation or 2 and relying on peoples inherent desire to protect their own equity/financial well being as a tool to control that was quite probably a big part of the plan. A bit of inter generational conflict that sees the proles fighting among themselves is a decent distraction from focusing on the real 'enemy'.

The fact the state managed to shed responsibility for huge swathes of social housing and put the replacement into the hands of the private sector is a nice little bonus. The slow but steady shift to housing being provided by for profit associations either as stand alone or in partnership with the more typical not for profits is a sad but inevitable next step.

Unfortunately political parties and the media are adept at creating such situations, and, even more unfortunately, many of the public fall for it

[Ozyhibby]

https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...ng-the-cranes/

Austin in Texas freed up planning and started building lots of housing. And rents plummeted as a result. We know what works, it just needs political will.


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[Colr]

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https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...ng-the-cranes/

Austin in Texas freed up planning and started building lots of housing. And rents plummeted as a result. We know what works, it just needs political will.


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Demand v supply! Who would guess? Worked in Vienna as well.

[MKHIBEE]

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https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...ng-the-cranes/

Austin in Texas freed up planning and started building lots of housing. And rents plummeted as a result. We know what works, it just needs political will.


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Another view on Austin’s housing issues
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09...bility-zoning/

[Ozyhibby]

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Another view on Austin’s housing issues
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09...bility-zoning/

Is that from before they changed the planning rules?


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[MKHIBEE]

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Is that from before they changed the planning rules?


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The article is dated September 2023, I imagine the information would have been current at that time. It’s unlikely that planning rule changes after that date would have resulted in a significant change in such a short time