If they can afford to give people 50k, could they just not build some more houses and rent them out?
I don’t know how much it costs to build from scratch but it’ll be considerably less than what they sell for.
this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2026
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The calculation here is probably that it's worth the 50k to retain an existing house, if they built another one they would still be obliged to sell it at a discount
Which is why right to buy is so terrible, it's selling off public assets at a discount to what often becomes private landlords.
Yep. And particularly galling when the newly minted landlord rents their house back to the council to use as temporary accommodation
Yet more reasons to hate Thatcher, but no one has changed it since either
Which would also stimulate the local economy by creating employment for builders and tradespeople (but maybe not tax returns lol).
brw it absolutely amazes much how much in England we’ll complain about there never being good tradesmen available and how they all live in McMansions, and yet apparently young people would rather die in a call centre than get on this supposed gravy train.
Isn't it only the business owners that are making a decent amount out of it?
Meanwhile my office job has far fewer expenses. I don't need a work van and tools. Certainly saves me a good 4 figure sum a year at least.
Having a van full of tools is the dream though, isn’t it? Like being the Punisher but for flooring.
That said my brother-in-law’s white van broke down and he couldn’t afford to replace it.
What dream? Sounds more like an expensive liability.
Especially when they are frequently broken into and tools nicked.
Tradies in Oz mostly have utes with these locked strongboxes on the flatbed. Dunno how secure that actually is though versus just not keeping anything in there overnight.
Quite a few here do. But then you have to log all the stuff indoors.
Talking to a relative that does landscaping etc. and he said a make of his woke up to his van being broken into. They used an electric saw to cut it open. He threatened them and one of them said ‘OK, I might take a beating. But we know where your wife and kids are. We’ll just come back again when you’re out’.