Don’t blame baby boomers for politicians’ mismanagement of housing

SIR – I object to homeowners being characterised as “clinging” to familysized homes with “unused” bedrooms (“Where baby boomers are refusing to downsize – and fuelling a housing shortage”, Money, February 26).

We live in a four-bedroom house, but the “extra” bedrooms are far from unused, since when our house was built in the 1970s no accommodation was made for a home office, or clothes storage, or really any kind of storage at all.

We are not responsible for decades of government mismanagement of almost everything related to housing, from selling off council houses and not replacing them, to implementing a stamp-duty tax that stifles careers, since relocating for a new job comes at a substantial cost.

Julia Hunt

Tonbridge, Kent

SIR – While I certainly think stamp duty is too high, I cannot understand the rationale behind a stamp-duty holiday to enable the elderly to downsize (report, February 26). What about the people buying their houses?

A retired couple selling up to buy a smaller house would pay the stamp duty on that from the profit made on their current house. The growing family buying that larger house would have to increase their mortgage to pay the much higher stamp duty. Two or three years of mortgage repayments are needed these days just to cover stamp duty.

The fundamental problem is that stamp duty is a tax paid predominantly by the middle classes in the south east of England – yet another instance of fiscal drag.

Matthew Binns

Lindfield, West Sussex

SIR – One of the reasons older people downsize is to free up equity. Not all of us are able to afford the ongoing maintenance costs of our houses in retirement, as we might be asset rich but cash poor. My suggestion would be to increase the threshold for the 0 per cent stamp duty rate to £500,000, which might satisfy the financial dilemma for all concerned.

Denise Hilton

Guildford, Surrey

SIR – I know two older single ladies (both of whom had children who have now moved away) living in threebedroom semi-detached houses in a sought-after area – entirely paid for by the welfare system. Why not introduce a regular review of the need for social housing, or a clause requiring downsizing as the family decreases?

Perhaps making tenants responsible for some proportion of maintenance costs would encourage moves. One of these ladies had a new boiler, bathroom and windows installed without charge, with contributions to wallpaper of her choice, and a payment for mould that she experienced only in the unused bedrooms.

Y Stevens

Swaffham, Norfolk