David u-w

New Cross boy. Arsenal fan. Campaigning against demolition of social housing and social cleansing of communities. With @achilles_newx all the way. #RetroFirst

[David u-w @daviduw92]

I wrote a shortish piece on estate demolition. I look at the economics of demolition, managed decline, class dynamics, and dodgy ballots.

Give it a read if you get the chance 👇
https://t.co/Rh7uiss628

[David u-w @daviduw92]

What an absolute catastrophe. Never forget that our ££ subsidised this.

Public land given to private developers to build grossly overpriced and defective housing.

[Claudia Lee @claudiaizabell]

More than 400 residents have been forced to leave their flats for at least six months after a “catastrophic infrastructure failure” in their #Lewisham new-build. They have been told repair work could take 6 to12 months before flats are “habitable again” 🔗 https://t.co/U3ZLTr9tQq

[David u-w @daviduw92]

@Capstan99 Nah I hadn’t seen this thanks for sharing 👍

[David u-w @daviduw92]

This is a case study on Build to Rent from Lewisham. Perfectly illustrates how it’s gonna work for other areas.

The land was given to developers for free along with a multi-million £ grant by Lewisham Council. Sweet deal right?

Cost of a studio flat? £1,750 (not inc bills).

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Build to rent really is the dream ticket for institutional investors:

- Guaranteed increase in returns on perpetually rising rents.

- Retaining much more control over the asset than selling to owner occupiers

- Big subsidies from local/national Govt.
https://t.co/Qaj9UeJysP

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Any natural monopoly or key utility should be delivered to the public pretty much at cost on a social tariff.

Have all the costs of the various water companies universally gone up by 26%? 🤔

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: Water UK confirm bills for water companies will rise by on average £123 or 26% on April 1st

[@theLDNstandard]

[David u-w @daviduw92]

@gamecounsel Was an automated transaction that took a few seconds. Feels like I got mugged!

[David u-w @daviduw92]

£20 quid to change a train ticket one month in advance after already paying an absurdly expensive fare (£130rtrn to Newcastle).

We are just being held hostage at this point lol. The relationship we have with the businesses that govern access to very basic needs is parasitic

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Wonder when the penny will finally drop that an economy built on rising asset prices and underpinned by wage stagnation is never going to deliver a rise in living standards for the public…

[David u-w @daviduw92]

It really is all about the spec that developers build them to.

We have the technology and advanced building practices to put up homes that are far superior to what most of us live in.

Need to avoid falling into the trap of thinking we can’t do better.

[KWAJO- Social Issues Campaigner @Kwajotweneboa]

The state of New Build Homes 🇬🇧 …

If this issue isn’t addressed, we’ll be facing thousands of defective new builds within a few years.

Why are we building homes like these in 2024? …

[David u-w @daviduw92]

This is going to happen a lot more.

If all the productive capacity is in the private sector, what bargaining power do you actually have?

Making the arbitrary 1.5m figure a key metric of this Govt’s success means this will likely get waved through if rejected and appealed.

[Southwark Council @lb_southwark]

Statement in response to Berkeley Homes notifying Southwark Council that it is lowering its affordable housing offer on the Aylesham Centre site from 35% to 12%.

This would reduce the number of affordable homes built on the site from 270 to 77.

(1/3)

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Are we really expected to believe that an additional net increase of 80k units on a macro level is going to improve housing affordability?

It’s disingenuous to give people false hope. There’s also a misnomer that there’s a sweet spot between profitability and affordability.

[David u-w @daviduw92]

If hypothetically every UK employee was to receive a mandatory 15% payrise overnight, what do we think would happen to prices in the rental market?

It would get gobbled up by landlords and any new supply would be priced accordingly.

Hopefully the penny drops on price controls…

[Just Space @justspace7]

Yet more evidence that the ‘law of supply and demand’ doesn’t apply to land and housing: demand for rental is falling as increasing numbers of households can’t afford to rent - yet private rents continue to rise remorselessly, by 8.7% over the past year.

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Has anyone actually done a calculation/projection on what happens if Lab hit the 1.5m target?

As the number one issue is affordability you would surely want downward pressure on prices. Totally incoherent on the aim of the policy.

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Rather than subsiding the HMO portfolio of some ‘entrepreneurial’ landlord who has cornered the local temporary accommodation market.

That money isn’t gonna be seen again 👋

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Keynesianism 101!

Same lens should be applied to housing. People often use the fact that a % of council housing receipts come from housing benefit as some kind of gotcha.

Reality is that the £ doesn’t leave the public purse and SHOULD be used to invest in more production.

[Roy Andrew @AndrewRoy70]

Don't complain about how much welfare benefits cost. Every penny of it goes back into the economy they don't squirrel it away in offshore bank accounts like billionaires do

#Budget2024

[David u-w @daviduw92]

This is what happens to houses when landlords leave the market.

[The i Paper @theipaper]

Landlord ‘mass exodus’ possible following Budget despite low mortgage rates

🔴 @gracegausden93 reports https://t.co/IOaWHXeaKw

[David u-w @daviduw92]

Truly recommend this from @_isaacrose

It’s an excellent read and draws a fascinating historical context.

Particularly relevant for anyone that’s been involved in estate demolition.

It really unpicks the whole ‘place-making’ scam and the damage that has caused in Manchester.

[David u-w @daviduw92]

that with a small cafe or restaurant and all the food hygiene/safety regs they have to comply with at all times in order to stay open.

Working people, really?

To get a gas safety certificate literally all you have to do is pay boiler person £100 once a year to do a check.

[David u-w @daviduw92]

I remember reading somewhere that nearly half of rented properties don’t have a valid gas safety certificate which I think is the only health and safety reg landlords have to comply with.

It’s illegal but enforcement in the PRS is so weak that it doesn’t matter.

Now, compare…

[David u-w @daviduw92]

This is what happens when we introduce very basic tenants protections and landlords ‘leave the market’…