The eviction ban

The were renting an apartment for 1200 but they came into some money and used it as deposit to buy one in same building on an interest only mortgage so they are now paying a 1/4 of their old rent for almost the same apartment. And the interest rate is fixed so it won't go up but rents have.

They are retired and were able to get a mortgage. Somebody asked what happens in Germany when you retire, this is the only comparable example of I have. If it's possible in Holland I'm sure it's possible in Germany too.

I would dispute the "largely". We aren't keeping up with increasing domestic demand either.

If we want more housing you either have to attract investment, and not just the top end, and/or build it ourselves.

No somebody asked what do life time renters do in Germany ,I'd an example from Holland.

Here lifetime renters will be screwed.

You could build a thousand 1 million euro apartments. It won't create a single affordable or social property. They won't fill them either they are left empty.

The idea of a chain like music chairs only goes so far.

If they fill the apartments, then by definition, they are affordable to those who rent them. And, by renting to the better off, pressure is taken off those trying to rent lower down. Supply, at the end of the day, is supply.

I agree with you though that such developments are not enough. Social housing still needs to be increased at the lower end.

That is madness. Certainly empty apartments owned by investment funds should be taxed.

Objectors have objected to virtually every sort of housing especially apartment's. The excuses are varied. But build to rent complexes are always targeted especially those 1&2 bed in the centre of the city. These would throw free houses rented further outside the city centre.

Actually there would tend to be no objections against really expensive apartments as these would tend to be more spacious and the value of an apartment is not a planning consideration

The idea all that the people in the half/million apartments will move up into the full million euro apartments leaving an empty apartment behind them for use is just naïve.

They will more likely stay right where they are in their already high end apartment, the million euro apartment will stay empty until the high end renter with the right circumstances eventually comes along, and all of this makes minute difference to those at the bottom of the food chain.

It may be a pyramid, but it is clearly a pyramid with differing rental bands within it that do not necessarily affect each other.

Yet at the same time, premium apartments do tend to get filled. There is clearly a market for them. No one is trying to claim there are large numbers of blocks of empty premium apartments.

Since they get filled, it means that someone who is now occupying them is no longer competing at the lower end and pushing up prices for others trying to get apartments.

It's enough of an issue for them to legislate for it

If supply is supply and it's all the same there'd be the same issues at both ends of the market. But there isn't.

People also complain about the provision of social housing at the other end arguing that it doesn't directly cater to their individual need. E.g. someone of middle income will complain that adding social housing doesn't help them because their income is too high to qualify for it. That may be the case but what they are failing to take into account is that when someone on lower income take up social housing they are no longer competing in the general rental market.

It is the same principle at the higher end. Add supply at the higher end and fewer people are fighting among themselves for properties the next rung down.

The writing was on the wall for this housing crisis back in 2015. I remember having a conversation with my wife about how nothing was been built and the population was slowly increasing. Even though our rent was only peanuts with the way things were going you could see prices were only going to go up. We started bidding on houses in 2016, twice we were outbid by the council. Thankfully now we didn't get either of those houses as both estates have turned into kips. We bought a lovely house in 2018 with a ten year variable mortgage and our savings. In December 2021 we decided to switch to a fixed mortgage for last few years as it was clear interest rates were going to climb. I think a lot of people in my age group have sleep walked into this when they could or should have got out of the renting game. I know that sound harsh and it doesn't include everyone especially young people in their 20s and even early 30s but they're are plenty of people I know that could have got out of renting but are now trapped. It will only get harder and harder unfortunately.

Why would I run around talking about a couple of houses blocked by parties?