Another Labour cock up ?

[modeller]

In todays Telegraph a Somali family none of whom speak English or work left their semi in Coventry where they had been for 3 years and went to Labour Camden who put them in a £2 million house costing £2000 a week rent using the Labour Housing Act which requires the Camden taxpayers to pick up the tab. This was all arranged just before the Tory April budget which has now capped any rent at a max of £400.
Labour Camden did this knowing full well, it was well advertised, that the budget was going to clamp down on such abuse.
. So everybody is happy, the landlord is happy, the left wingers are happy , the Somalis are happy and Gromits brigade are happy.
Pity about the taxpayers . Maybe that's one of the reasons they rioted .
Oh yes there are all those others on Camdens housing waiting list they are not too happy either.

[emmie]

Perhaps the people will trash the place, that will make the landlord unhappy, shouldn't be renting out places for thousands a week, nor should people who haven't a pot to pee in be allowed to stay in them rent free.

[modeller]

em10 //Modeller, sacre bleu, you voted for him, why? //
We all have our moment of lunacy and at the time I thought John Major was useless. In addition I think all governments become stale after 10 years.
I also feel Blair started off quite well he didn't abolish Maggies trade union regulations, and got rid of some antiquated socialist ideas. Unfortunately it didn't last, he and Brown started buying their way out of trouble by throwing money into the benefit system with the inevitable results.

[Teddy_boy]

Doesn't all this go back to the right to buy council houses?And the conservative government not requiring councils to build new housing stock?Surely its the same basic principle of forestry?If you cut down 20 trees you need to replant or you wont have any trees. Id you sell off council houses and don't rebuild any you will run short of housing stock and need to rely on the private sector.Some might say that many conservatives would have been those private sector landlords and stood to gain?Either Way the money has been spent and the housing stock has dwindled.

[modeller]

I don't quite understand your point , unless you mean Labour opened the door to millions of immigrants and failed to build houses for them .
On the other hand Labour also had 13 years to reverse Maggies policy of selling council houses and could have replaced all those she had sold.
They did neither.

[Gromit]

Funny you should say that Teddy Boy. The Councillor much quoted in the story is one Jonny Bucknell. His Camden Council profile states...

// For many years he worked for the family property rental company, which gave him valuable experience in the building industry. He continues to run a small rental business in the local area. (Estates Management).

http://belsizeconserv...yourcllr.com/aboutus/

Perhaps he has properties in Camden and was miffed the he didn't get this rent.

[modeller]

Does that change anything ? I suppose you could say he was a whistle blower exposing the waste of taxpayers money. I wonder if he's still got a job ?

[Gromit]

Modeller,
This case is a disgrace, but it is worth bearing in mind that everyone loses except the private landlord involved who is raking in £8,000 a month paid for by the DSS. And there are thousands of private landlords making lots of money renting to DSS lodgers.

So even you must find it ironic that the person complaining the loudest (and probably got this in the national newspapers) is a private landlord renting out properties in Camden.

So even you must find it i

[TheTruthHere]

Wonder who rents his property

Jonny Bucknell

Party: Conservative

Ward: Belsize

[modeller]

Quite right Gromit but if there hadn't been such a stupid act in the first place they would not be coining in the money and also causing ever higher rents. If you know that it doesn't matter what you charge the council will pick up the tab inevitably rents will keep going up. No doubt that would also be a factor why house prices have remained high despite the recession.
How any government whatever its colour could make such a stupid mistake is bejond belief . The same thing applies across the whole benefit system pouring in money without control will end in disaster.

[TheTruthHere]

modeller Housing is where most of the benefit money goes. If people were given a set figure ( lot lower than present ) they would have to find cheaper housing.

[modeller]

Yes truthcare and it would help to bring down house prices across the country, which is what is needed to get young people a house of their own.

What annoys me is the way the media and politicians constantly complain with doom laden voices that house prices are falling . A newsreader yesterday said " There is a bright spot, its in London house prices are showing a further rise ."

[Gromit]

House prices in he UK are too high, and I thought the recession, austerity budgets, and rising unemployment would see them adjust back to a more realistic level, but that never happened. I think the reason that has not occurred is because the housing boom fuelled our spending binge. Between 2000 and 2005 house prices doubled. What did we do? We borrowed and took out 2nd mortgages knowing our houses were worth double what we had paid for it. Unfortunately, that means there is no room for prices to drop back to a realistic level because that would mean a lot of people would lose money or go into negative equity. Utter madness really.

[Sir Alec]

Overbreed. That is the answer. If you overbreed, you will automatically go to the top of the housing list.

[modeller]

You are right Gromit but as I said if the media started saying falling prices are good for the country and especially young people the message might get through . Nobody likes going into negative equity but many of them have only themselves to blame. Those who took out big 2nd morgages and those who built up a property empire buying houses to rent. A small 2nd morgage especially in retirement was OK but many took out 100% morgages and are now in trouble. Of course the government , the banks and the building societies shouldn't have lent the money in the first place but the borrower can't avoid some of the blame. Greed and stupidity just about sums it up.