Tory London mayoral candidate: homeless can save for house deposit

[AtW]

"The Conservative candidate for London mayor has sparked controversy after suggesting that homeless people in the capital would be able to save up for a £5,000 deposit to buy a share in a newly-built affordable home.

Shaun Bailey has promised to deliver 100,000 affordable homes with his £4bn housing budget if he wins the election in April, many of them shared ownership, of which buyers would be able to purchase a share for as little as £100,000.

Asked in an interview with Inside Housing how this policy would benefit the capital’s 62,670 households currently in temporary accommodation, Bailey said he would encourage them to apply for shared ownership properties.

Asked how these families would produce a £5,000 deposit and secure a mortgage, he said: “I don’t think the £5,000 will [be a problem]. The mortgage application thing might be a bit tougher … they could save for it, yeah.”"

Tory London mayoral candidate: homeless can save for house deposit | Homelessness | The Guardian

That's the best Tory candidate after Honest Boris?

[Whorty]

"The Conservative candidate for London mayor has sparked controversy after suggesting that homeless people in the capital would be able to save up for a £5,000 deposit to buy a share in a newly-built affordable home.

Shaun Bailey has promised to deliver 100,000 affordable homes with his £4bn housing budget if he wins the election in April, many of them shared ownership, of which buyers would be able to purchase a share for as little as £100,000.

Asked in an interview with Inside Housing how this policy would benefit the capital’s 62,670 households currently in temporary accommodation, Bailey said he would encourage them to apply for shared ownership properties.

Asked how these families would produce a £5,000 deposit and secure a mortgage, he said: “I don’t think the £5,000 will [be a problem]. The mortgage application thing might be a bit tougher … they could save for it, yeah.”"

Tory London mayoral candidate: homeless can save for house deposit | Homelessness | The Guardian

That's the best Tory candidate after Honest Boris?

To be fair, he has a point ... maybe if they cut down on the champagne and caviar to just twice a week, they should be able to save a bit more. Or something ....

[jayn200]

“Not all of them, but some people could. A full proportion of people could.”

He added: “I know about that situation, I sofa surfed for years. You’re right, I definitely couldn’t have come up with £5,000, but those people I’m not expecting to or asking to. We’ll provide social housing for them.”

But hey your headline is much catchier.

[dsc]

It's the little things that add up, like closing the tap when brushing teeth or turning off the lights in the rooms which are not occupied...oh wait...

[Paddy]

To be fair, he has a point ... maybe if they cut down on the champagne and caviar to just twice a week, they should be able to save a bit more. Or something ....

If the homeless can't afford a house, let them buy a flat: Marie Antoinette (Tory) MP

[SueEllen]

But hey your headline is much catchier.

To be fair I suspect Sean Bailey ran his mouth and when the journalist questioned him a couple of times, he realised he was talking tulip.

One of the things about being a politican now is you need to be able to deal with the media including social media in a calm manner. One way to do this is get your own radio show.....

[vetran]

If they built enough homes in the capital then much of the issues would be sorted, alternatively they could diversify from London and pressures would be eased.

Housebuilding by numbers: how many homes should London be building? | Features | Building

London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, was elected promising to make building more homes his “single biggest priority” in office. His manifesto derided his predecessor’s failure to build 50,000 houses a year, and promised to “break the home-building logjam” and to make 50% of new homes affordable. Since being elected, he has presided over the creation of a hugely ambitious draft London Plan, targeting construction of even more homes - 65,000 a year.
But cold, hard reality is hitting home. The latest government housebuilding figures show Khan’s London is heading backwards – fast. Net additions to the housing stock – which include conversions and changes of use – were down by 20% in London in the year to April, dropping to 31,723. That’s under half the building rate promised in his draft plan. It’s also virtually the same number built in predecessor Boris Johnson’s final year in office.

£5000 is not an unreasonable deposit for poorer Londoners to save, it is what I paid as a deposit on my first house ~25 years ago (I was earning the median salary then) it was a quarter of average salary, now it is a fifth. Homeless people as he says should get access to social housing which we are not building enough of.

Revealed: the widening gulf between salaries and house prices | UK news | The Guardian.

[Paddy]

If they built enough homes in the capital then much of the issues would be sorted, alternatively they could diversify from London and pressures would be eased.

Housebuilding by numbers: how many homes should London be building? | Features | Building



£5000 is not an unreasonable deposit for poorer Londoners to save, it is what I paid as a deposit on my first house ~25 years ago (I was earning the median salary then) it was a quarter of average salary, now it is a fifth. Homeless people as he says should get access to social housing which we are not building enough of.

Revealed: the widening gulf between salaries and house prices | UK news | The Guardian.

Jesus Christ, London is so expensive that after paying rent and living expenses there is very little disposable income left for Mr/Mrs average, this is opposite to those living in cheaper rented properties in the North of England. (There are statistics showing this).

[vetran]

Jesus Christ, London is so expensive that after paying rent and living expenses there is very little disposable income left for Mr/Mrs average, this is opposite to those living in cheaper rented properties in the North of England. (There are statistics showing this).

It is the Government and in this case specifically the London Mayor responsible for the cost of living in London Sky Faeries have nothing to do with it.

If you want to fix a problem you need to fix the causes not the symptoms.

1.The UK and especially London have a population that is growing dramatically.
2. The Government for decades has failed to build enough houses to house this new population or replace failing houses.
3.The Government has failed to provide enough decent transport options for those who want to enter London for work.
4.Whenever something is in shortage its price tends to rise.

The above do indeed cause living in London to be expensive but £5000 is not an insurmountable amount if two or more live together and earn £25k, it is £100 a week for a year or £100 a month for four and half years.

[SueEllen]

It is the Government and in this case specifically the London Mayor responsible for the cost of living in London Sky Faeries have nothing to do with it.

The Mayor can make London-wide policies but if an individual London Council doesn't agree they won't give a development planning permission. The council then can be overruled by the Communities Secretary. The Mayor only really has control of the land TFL has.

If you want to fix a problem you need to fix the causes not the symptoms.

1.The UK and especially London have a population that is growing dramatically.

It may start falling particularly in inner London after the pandemic and due to Brexit.

2. The Government for decades has failed to build enough houses to house this new population or replace failing houses.

The Government doesn't build houses.

Local authorities don't build houses.

Local authorities sometimes with government intervention give developers including Housing Associations planning permission.

Some councils have been slow to do this.

Some councils haven't been but then the developer sits on the land until house prices go up. There is land near me that has been boarded up for development since 2016.

3.The Government has failed to provide enough decent transport options for those who want to enter London for work.

Cross rail is suppose to solve this.

4.Whenever something is in shortage its price tends to rise.

Which is why developers sit on land.

The above do indeed cause living in London to be expensive but £5000 is not an insurmountable amount if two or more live together and earn £25k, it is £100 a week for a year or £100 a month for four and half years.

He was asked about homeless people. I doubt many of them particularly now hold down a job.