The reason people can’t afford to buy a house

SIR – Councillor Alan Ferguson (Letters, August 11) wants the Government to make mortgages more affordable. This is to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted.

The damage was done during the governments of John Major and Tony Blair, when mortgage lenders loaned up to seven times income, sometimes for more than the purchase price. They lent more than many borrowers could conceivably repay, against the alleged security of homes that had a repossession value lower than the loan.

The Government could not have been unaware of this. The folly of these “sub-prime mortgages” was discussed more than once in the personal finance pages of The Daily Telegraph. Nothing was done about it. The outcome was rocketing house prices. The present unaffordability of home purchase is in large part due to the negligence of past governments.

Stamp duty only twists the knife. Current governments cannot think of any way to repair the damage without making matters worse. Norman Baker

Tonbridge, Kent SIR – Nigel Welby (Letters, August 12) forgets that we may not all want to live in one of his retirement villages.

I am 73 years old and should consider moving out of my family home, which is expensive to maintain. But although the special developments for retired people that I have viewed are lovely properties, I do not want to live among other oldies or be unable to tend my garden. I want to be in a community with a regular mix of inhabitants.

Not all pensioners are wealthy, and on top of the purchase price these properties carry additional fees, which will increase, unlike my pensions. Katherine Marsden-silverburn

Winchester, Hampshire

SIR – Applying capital gains tax to principal private residences (Letters, August 12) should be no disincentive for owners to improve properties. Such expenditure would generally be an allowable deduction when computing the tax due on a sale. Louise Adams

Shipton-under-wychwood, Oxfordshire