[looseyesterday]

I think you're right but supply alone isn't enough. Density is another issue. We need to learn to build up. Commutes are getting crazy and sprawl is intense. Most people who I know to own their own property end up so far from london they barely ever go in, only ever coming in for work because they have to. They let their connection wither and lead less interesting lives.

[jajko]

That's a bit condescending on your part to judge other's lives, just because world doesn't revolve around your values doesn't mean others are wrong and their life is shit.

I for example hate places like London with moderate passion, living there I consider very low quality life and certainly prefer touch with real nature, no crowds, little to no air/noise pollution, and society being more... social, to certain point of course.

40 minute commute 2x a week is fine with me, most Londoners have way more (not from there nor GB, what I write applies to all big cities to some extent). For raising kids there is no discussion, cities mostly suck despite all benefits and many kids from there show it very clearly.

[dukeyukey]

I think you're underestimating how much of London is quite pleasant green suburbs. It's not a very dense city, especially when you get out of Zone 1 and a few adjacent places like Tower Hamlets. I grew up in a rural farming town, and there's no way I'd move back.

[jajko]

What I describe could be understood as extreme since I didn't give enough details, what you describe is opposite extreme and I understand your opinion, would probably have the same.

The golden middle path, as usually, works the best for many after certain point in life. To be more concrete - smaller villages surrounded by vineyards and wild forests, 3 min by car from highway, 20 mins from a million-sized conglomeration with tons of work, 25 min from another bigger city, 5 minutes from beautiful crystal clear 100km wide lake. Village with well-equipped kindergarten, primary and secondary school, few shops and restaurants, in middle of wineyards, on foothills of beautiful mountains, looking at the alps few tens of kms away.

Paradise to many. Expensive one of course. London can be great compared to many places (and its ranked very high on greenery lists), but sorry it doesn't even compare unless you are properly die hard city type.

[abenga]

There 's not enough earth for everyone to live the way that you want to.

[denotational]

High-rise new-builds are tainted until we have leasehold reform; £8k p/a service charges and several hundred pounds ground rent, with failure to pay leading to the confiscation of your £1MM apartment by the freeholder, is insane, and is literal rent-seeking by the developers on properties that are ostensibly owned by their occupiers.

They don’t want to build more, because they would also have to lower their service charges significantly or see them fail to sell once they’ve saturated the section of the market that can afford them.

[ta1243]

I used to own a flat back in 2008 (completed literally the day after northern rock went bust). I owned 1 of 42 shares in the management company responsible for the management of the block. Sure we had to spend money maintaining the gardens, internal areas, lift, door system, etc.

Each year we had an AGM where we elected directors (I was one for a few years) and make the appropriate decisions.

Ground rent (especially those expoential ones) is a problem, but all leaseholders have a right to manage their flats even if it's not set up that way.

The far bigger problem is the fleecehold houses, where there is no right to manage, or even see the invoice -- https://inews.co.uk/news/housing/new-build-homeowners-nda-so...

[denotational]

That’s fine if you have a share of freehold. Lots of people don’t, and are beholden to the whims of large commercial landlords.

Replacing the management (or attempting to purchase the freehold) is tricky in buildings where the majority of units are sublet under ASTs; leaseholders who are landlords themselves generally don’t care how effective the management is, as long as it isn’t so bad as to disrupt their own income.

Even when a critical mass can be found, the up front costs associated mean that it is often impossible unless all the residents have access to large amount of capital.

[ta1243]

If you have a leasehold flat you have a right to manage

https://www.gov.uk/right-to-manage-a-guide-for-landlords

Nothing to do with the freehold

If I own a lease and then rent it out on an AST I want to reduce my costs to increase my profits. If I can manage the block myself for £4k and an annual vote for a director, or let the freeholder manage it for £8k, then clearly I'll do the former.

Same incentive as if you are an owner-occupier leaseholder.

[denotational]

I misread your original comment, but I don’t think replacing the management company is any easier than purchasing the freehold, aside from capital considerations.

The right exists in principle, but 50% of flats (as I understand it, all of them, including flats that are not demised under lease, but under AST from the freeholder, and who do not form part of the quota) must agree to form a management company before it can take effect.

> If I own a lease and then rent it out on an AST I want to reduce my costs to increase my profits.

In a demand-skewed market you will just pass the higher cost on in rent; it’s not going to make it any less likely that you manage to let it out.

Furthermore, even contacting the owners of sublet flats, let alone convincing them they should spend money and endure potential disruption, can be difficult, making it hard to reach the threshold.

In a small block it might be easy, in a high-rise with 200 apartments, it’s trickier.

[ta1243]

> In a demand-skewed market you will just pass the higher cost on in rent; it’s not going to make it any less likely that you manage to let it out.

In a demand skewed market you'll charge the same regardless.

Two people owning identical flats, one with a 90% mortgage at 5%, one with no mortgage at all, will charge exactly the same rent.

Costs don't come into the rent charged, this is a lie perpetrated by landlords who want tax breaks.

[ta1243]

Westminster is not known for its desnity, especially given Hyde, Regents, Green, and St James Park

However if the entire of Greater London suddenly became as dense as wesminster you could house another 9 million people.

[happymellon]

Transportation is massive for this situation, and the gutting of HS2 was entirely to prevent people being able to commute to London from further afield and wrecking the housing in London.

If we were able to get a better network of transport it would unlock a lot more of the country where there is land, and there is already empty housing.