Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayJun 6

Andy Burnham is casting round for ideas for how to fund a major increase of spending on social housing, within the current (albeit modified) fiscal rules set by Rachel Reeves;

A while ago, I proposed a social hosing bond (not unlike a war bond) that would direct savings & investment towards the sector from people looking for stable investments (and who perhaps want to see a rise in social housing).

While not fully developed you'll get the idea.

#housing #politics
https://northwestbylines.co.uk/politics/opinion/could-social-housing-bonds-be-part-of-the-answer-to-the-housing-crisis/

Could social housing bonds be part of the answer to the housing crisis?

Funding needed for social housing is massive, and this article offers a novel approach, to be known as national social housing bonds

North West Bylines | Powerful Citizen Journalism
Show thread🐕Jun 6

@ChrisMayLA6 in Scotland our councils are busy building thousands of new council houses, funded by borrowing from the treasury at a margin over gilts, paid back out of rents, all helped by having binned right-to-buy years ago. There's usually a small contribution from Scot Gov, again effectively funded by gilts.

There's no need for Burnham to reinvent the wheel, just let English councils borrow and build again.

Show threadThe Penguin of EvilJun 6
@jbenjamint @ChrisMayLA6 You need to drag "right to buy" out to a dark crossroads and burn it so it never comes back for this to work. Scotland and Wales have done so, which is the critical bit to make it work.
Show threadJonathan SchofieldJun 6

@etchedpixels @jbenjamint @ChrisMayLA6

Just to add variety into the possibilities of how to structure an equitable housing sector:

I heard today that in Cuba 96% of people own their own home and for the remaining 4%, the proportion of their income that they are allowed to be charged in rent is 6%.

1h:6m in here https://www.patreon.com/posts/rise-and-fall-of-159401405

Show threadLillyLyle/Count MelancholiaJun 6

@urlyman
What about the land their homes sit on? Is it owned by them, or "leased" in some fashion?
As long as there still is private landownership, the inequalities will return. Land = patriarchal power.

@etchedpixels

@jbenjamint @ChrisMayLA6

Show threadSimon BrookeJun 7

@LillyHerself @urlyman @etchedpixels @jbenjamint @ChrisMayLA6 Strong agree here.

If you have heritable ownership of land and a market economy, over time the land is inevitably concentrated under the ownership of the richest.

People need security of tenure of their homes, but only for their lifetimes. Heritable property is not something a democratic society can tolerate.

Show threadJonathan Schofield

@simon_brooke @LillyHerself @etchedpixels @jbenjamint @ChrisMayLA6

Fwiw I agree (as a home owner!)

Jun 7 at 10:11amIvory for iOS