A fairer property market would not be a betrayal of Tory principles
SIR – David Frost, writing about the Government White Paper on the private rented sector (Comment, June 17), opposes controls as being a betrayal of Conservative principles and likely to reduce the availability of properties for rent. He clearly believes that “the market” does and will work fairly for all without Government intervention.
I believe in the Conservative principles of self-reliance and independence, but it is obvious that a “free market” in property – whether buying or renting – is no longer tenable. For such a market to exist and operate fairly, it requires a reasonable equilibrium between supply and demand, and there is little chance of that happening.
Those looking to rent (many of whom would prefer to buy) are in effect being coerced because they have no alternative. They are in the worst possible position: unable to accumulate capital and facing constant rent rises. It is unjust that rent levels should be driven by “yield” expectations given the relentless escalation in house prices. Such a system gives landlords both increased rents and increased capital values. No wonder buy-to-let has been so popular.
The time has surely come to rebalance the unequal market. We are already in danger of creating a two-tier society of owners and renters, so I support any attempt to help renters. The proposals do not offend any Conservative principle with which I would wish to be associated.
Everybody deserves a decent home to live in at an affordable price. I would urge the Government to recognise that a genuine free market in property is an unreal and unachievable concept. It should centre its efforts on creating a sensible relationship between average incomes and average prices, whether as a buyer or renter. Without that, the future looks bleak indeed.
John Dodwell
Kingsbridge, Devon
SIR – My two daughters have been living in rented accommodation for nine years. Neither has missed a single rental payment in that time, yet their current earnings would not qualify them for a mortgage to buy a house similar to the ones they are renting.
Both daughters pay in the region of £900 a month, which would cover the cost of a £350,000 interest-only mortgage, such as those used by many of my generation to buy our first home.
Is it not time banks lent on the rental payment history of individuals, backed up by landlord references and bank account evidence?
Derek Turner
Brill, Buckinghamshire
SIR – With increasing numbers of district councils apparently being persuaded by developers to release them from Section 106 obligations to build affordable housing, talk of further sales of subsidised social housing and targets for new-build housing persistently being missed, where exactly are young families and others in need expected to live? Tony Wolfe Sockbridge, Cumbria