The Housing Crisis – part the first

There is so much to write about the housing crisis, it’s hard to know where to start. So this is a rough outline of where I want to go with this – it will be fleshed-out over the next couple of weeks – but I’s like some ideas to start flowing now.

So consider this post to be part of the ‘post first, ask questions later’ school…

So. This is what I’m thinking:

1. Brighton’s recent business survey found private (buy to let) landlords to be a *good* thing for low-income workers. I think this assessment is dead wrong, and I think the logic you need to follow to reach this conclusion makes you a prime candidate for total moral bankrupcy. In my book, at least. I’d like to talk more about this – I have a nature hatred for private landlords, having been screwed over more times than I’d like to count by these mercantile bastards. I think this prejudice might be blinding me. But I doubt it…

2. Bo Klok houses – IKEA (world of moral minefields) has come up with some really quite astonishing ideas, which are being put to work in Newcastle Gateshead. I’ve seen Swedish social housing, and Two Piers’ Christchurch is built around a Danish model; so I can see how this could really, really work (and don’t forget, in Sweden, it’s dark for about half the year. These people know how to build so you don’t go postal on your neighbours…). It’s interesting that the scheme is being administered via a social housing marketing expert company,(or something… I’m not sure I get the part where profits and social housing collide, but I know *nothing* about their business model, other than they are means-testing applicants and houses can *only* be resold via the agency. That sounds like there may be some co-op in the mix but without further study I couldn’t tell you). Live Smart @ Home

Links: Guardian Story – Bo Klok

I’m interested in how Bo Klok, combined with a co-operative model and some proper funding, could change the face of Brighton’s housing shortage.

I’m also deeply suspicious of how the private rental sector would take the news that they’re being undercut… and how the private landlords who are so very deeply involved in local politics might attempt to move heaven and hell to prevent this from happening…

I’m interested in what boom and bust means for co-ops.

I’m interested in what ‘ownership’ of a house means, and what shared ownership – or custodianship – of a building means for its long term survival and maintenance…

I’m interested in how models of owning/renting work across Europe and what that means in terms of how people conceptualise ‘home’.

I’m interested in how we frame ‘community’ – are shared ownership schemes, strong tenants schemes, fully mutual cooperatives – more sociable places to live? Do we have the same problems as everyone else? (My suspicion is that we have less problems in some ways – we are forced to be social so we know our neighbours – but we have more disposable income and live somewhere with lots of people so the temptation to spend a *lot* of time drunk is definitely there. We also have interesting problems cause by adults- some of whom are very set in their ways – attempting to share space).

After so much destructive legislation in the 80s and 90s, where next for coops? Will there ever be another Two Piers? How can we encourage self-build? How can we streamline the paperwork and the regulation to a manageable level for small co-ops? How do we ensure their longevity? How do we persuade the Powers That Be of their usefulness in the long term?

How do we persuade government that a thing not-for-profit is a thing still worth doing, or do we follow the path of Home and make some money out of it, just because that means we’ll get left alone?

And what happens now to all those people in their 20s and 30s who may well find themselves sliding into negative equity? It looks like a certainty now – so what can be done to mitigate the ruining of thousands of lives?

Answers on a postcard… or in the comments, or linky, or digg it, or – well – you know the drill…

See also: http://grovesmedia.wordpress.com/