The Public Housing Shortage...Why not bring back "Prefabs"?

[Ms Macbeth 76]

Have to agree with that. The 'right to buy' council rented property is what has really blighted the property market. And the 'social housing' label needs to be abolished. There seems these days to be a stigma of economic inadequacy attached to those who live in rented property.

Thats because up to the 80's, people aspired to a council house - it was something most people had to wait for, often living with in-laws or parents until their turn came up on the list. Successive governments have changed the rules so that the majority of social housing properties go to people in 'need'. Changes were needed, and highlighted in 'Cathy come home', but my view is that they've swung too far the other way, as seems to be the norm in Britain. Only 25% of council homes (in Sheffield) are normally available to them, the rest are for people with priority status

When I was young most working class, and a good number of middle-class people were happy to live in rented property and a significant proportion of it was privately rather than council owned. It gave people much greater flexibility about changing jobs and living close to their place of work than being locked in to a mortgage does. Private rented accommodation was the norm when I was young, my father had a good job and never bought a house. Once people started really getting the hang of house buying, the demand for council housing shrank. Its only gone up again cos prices have risen so much, and private renting has certainly seen some growth .

 

I saw getting a council home as a good start in life for many people. They could live there until they were earning enough to move on. It used to happen, then 'right to buy' meant all those lucky enough to live in a decent council house perhaps didn't move out even though they could have afforded to. Instead, they bought at a huge discount. Its their children and grandchildren who are now denied the same start they had.

[Plain Talker 11]

An Englishman's home is his castle, so to speak. I personally prefer to buy as I see rent as dead money. A home is a good investment in my opinion.

 

looking at it from the other side, though agent orange, It isn't me that has to pay for the workmen to do a repair, in my rented home, if something goes wrong...

 

for example, My and my neightbours' central heating boilers (11/12 yrs old, installed when the houses were built) identical models, firing identical systems both went west, and the same part that went, within a few weeks of each other.

 

Our HA has replaced the boilers at what could have cost us £800 had we been homeowners. but at no outlay to us, except what we pay in rent.

 

If our roof gets blown off in a gale, (As hapened to me, in my old HA property, 11 yrs ago)it's not us that has to replace it. maintenance, painting doors and windows etc, not down to us...

 

I prefer that sort of peace of mind.

[cressida 1,571]

the prefabs of yesteryear are unrecognizable round here, they have all been bricked over and modernised

[JoeP 11]

When I was in my teens (1970s) I had two or three aunts who lived in prefabs.

 

They'd been built after WW2 and so by that point were about 30 odd years old and they were brilliant - they were effectively bungalows, and everyone I knew who lived in them seemed very happy there.

 

You could probably build modern day 'eco-friendly' buildings that would meet teh same functionality as the prefabs, and offer similar sized accomodation...BUT....I think the issue today would be that people would regard them as second class accomodation and wouldn't take them up.

[Snook 10]

We could use the balloon frame housing techniques that they have used in America for over a hundred years, they are quicker and simpler to build, although obviously not meant to last as long.

[Waltheof 10]

Why not take steps to limit the population instead? And to get people used to living in groups instead of little nuclear families taking up a whole house each? In other parts of Europe people seem to have no trouble accepting they can live in apartments, and there is more renting. The housing prices here have gone crazy with everyone thinking they MUST strive to own property. Also people have second homes that remain empty for parts of the year, those would be put to better use housing people permanently...and there are many vacant properties standing empty for one reason or another.

[rubydazzler 11]

Here's a little 5 minute film about it

 

They are so cute!! I love them, I want one!

 

What about the sort of "cabins" they have at places like center parcs? They appear to be built of breeze blocks and yet inside they're warm and cosy and very spacious. We've stayed there in the depths of winter and never felt cold. I appreciate that they're not very groundspace efficient though.

[cressida 1,571]

they look like what used to be called corrugated iron, I remember when bungalows were being built behind my parents' house, the builders used a corrugated type shed as a loo - ooh!

[mahonia 10]

My mum was bought up in prefrabs on Brinsworth in Rotherham. She says they were the best years of her life.

 

If there was an option to do this at an obviously reduced cost of a standard house, I think it would be a great idea.

 

It would be a place of my own and I would be able to upgrade as required.

 

As it stands at the moment I don't have nearly enough money to buy.

 

My Grandma lived in " The White City " at Kiverton Park, I take it we are on about the same design of house, My grandma says they were only built to be up 10 years, The " White City " was built in 1953 and most of it was pulled down in 2003-4:o