UKRM Court of Common Sense

Isn't Eton a suburb of Windsor?

 

<fx: twice in one thread>

....a modest proposal...

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, darsy

Well, no. But "that's life". I'd like an aeroplane. But I can't afford
one.

 

Thank you Mr Swift..

 

On public transport that either doesn't link the cheap places to the
places with jobs or is so expensive it wipes out the pay from the job.

We could always adopt the American solution of rent control.

 

Slough.

 

Well, Windsor Castle does have a SL postcode.

 

Circumstances change. Governments I haven't voted for have made loads of
decisions that affect my circumstances. Whether I'm happy with that or
not is irrelevant.

 

Yes, IKWYM. I think darsy has provided the addendum

 

There hasn't been a government for whom I voted since the 1997. And
I've had lots of things happen to me via government that I'm not
exactly enamoured with.

 

Umm, Rightmove's rental price drop-down is per MONTH, not per week... Try
again with the £1250pcm option, and you've got "1000+" 2-bed places to
choose from.

I did some playing on another property website yesterday for a very
similar discussion yesterday on another group.

£400pw doesn't find you any 4 bed houses in Knightsbridge. Obviously. But
there's a choice of 4 bed houses below that amount within just three
miles of Knightsbridge. They're very, very nice, too. Recently
refurbished Victorian places "fitted to a high standard", stripped oak
floors - not exactly shitholes by any measure.

I live in a far-from-pikey corner of the Home Counties. There's a decent
choice of four-bed houses for rent around us - in some very nice roads -
for less than £400pw.

The only real change needed is for the London Boroughs to be allowed to
look at neighbouring boroughs for housing if the needs can't be met
locally.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

And if I lost my job (and had been foolish enough not to pay mortgage
protection insurance), it's highly likely that I'd be unable to continue
to live in the nice place I live in. So I'd have to move.

That's life, Suck it up.

 

I found the preceding use of the term "telebox" to be the indicator.

 

I/we lived in a garage. Then an empty house, then with a Spic. All
courtesy of uk.r.m. and the social climbing network. Usenet benefits,
you could call it.

 

I can't afford to live near where I work either. Which is why I
commute up to an hour or so each way to my job.

Public transport is available. I have zero sympathy for anyone who
expects me to pay for them to live a five minute walk from work.

 

<snipped>

I really can't see how this can happen - Eminent Domain has been part
of English Common Law since 1215 (Article 39 of the Magna Carta).
Even though the property was sold with big discounts, the government
did it with their eyes wide open and the purchasers bought in good
faith. To enforce a sell back with the same kind of discount would be
against common law.

IANAL, ICBW, IMO etc.

 

None from me, & it won't make any difference to the vast majority of
claimants. 775k households lose an average of 9 quid a week - so what?
If they're good, reliable tenants, most landlords will happily drop the
rent by that much to keep them.

The relatively tiny amount of people (20k odd) who get hit harder due
to the 'size of house' cap will also be able to get a discount from the
landlord if they're good & reliable, & for the ones who can't, as you
say, tough, go live somewhere cheaper. And stop breeding.

Changing the process completely to match the way Swindon council do it
would be the best option though. They lease the houses directly from
the landlords on 1, 2 or 3 year leases (depending on what the mortgage
companies will agree too). That means the council can dictate the rents
to a certain extent as landlords would rather have a 3 year lease at
500/month (so guaranteed rental income) than shorthold tenancies at
575/month with all the associated hassles & potential lack of income
for however long it takes to get new tenants.

When Swindon launched that scheme a couple of years ago, they were
over-subscribed within a few days. I see no reason why it wouldn't be
the same in the rest of the country.

 

Just an observation, but I'm sure as soon as the cap is set at £X00 a
month/week, quite a few private landlords who have been raking it in for
years with overpriced rental income will suddenly decide that it's better to
drop their charges rather than lose their guaranteed income.

 

I can't afford to live near where I work, so I commute. Either by public
transport or by motorcycle, up to an hour or so each way.

I have zero sympathy for anyone who expects me to pay for them to live
near their job when I can't.

This story was covered on Newsnight last night, with the discussion
panel including a woman who has four kids and lives in Southwark with
her disabled elderly mother. All on benefits. She was adamant that if
her housing benefit was cut she'd have to move to another area, which
she didn't want to do because her kids were in a good school, or live in
a smaller (less than 5-bedroom) house, which would mean her kids sharing
bedrooms.

By the end of the discussion she seemed rather less adamant that she had
a reasonable position.

Frankly, as far as her case and others like them are concerned, boo-
fucking-hoo.

 

I got the government I voted for, but not the one I wanted.