Letter: Affordable Homes Should Be For First Time Buyers

Published on: 8 Jul, 2013
Updated on: 9 Jul, 2013

From Bernard Parke

Hon Alderman

Guildford is not alone in its need for affordable housing, but how can we be sure that such accommodation finds its way into the first time buyer sector where it most needed?

Currently we are experiencing entrepreneurs from this country and overseas (see below) buying housing in our borough increasing demand causing house prices to rise sky high and, in doing so, pricing young local people out of the market.

Perhaps, as a university town, we suffer more than other towns in Surrey. There would seem little to stop the buy-to-let sector buying up new affordable homes as soon as they they are built?

There is no local solution to this problem, but perhaps there is a need for central government action to curtail such house sales so that only to first time buyers qualify?

Building Societies could also help by restricting lending to buy-to-let landlords. This kind of priority occurred during the sixties when mortgages were mainly given to young married couples.

Tenants of such landlords should enjoy more security as was once the case when we had the Rent Acts. These made the life of a landlord a most unattractive source of income.

This of course unloaded property on to the market and as such the price of a home was truly affordable.

The secure family home is the bed rock of family life and provides the best environment for raising children as many studies have shown.

But how many marriages fail for the want of a couple’s home of their own?