Has the housing crisis affected you in any way?

BlackandGreen

So with all the media coverage and knock on effects we've been hearing about for the past few years in regards to the housing and homeless crisis, as they're calling it.
Have any of ye felt the effects? How concerned are you?

I've certainly noticed an increased amount of homeless on the streets alright. I've had a particularly bad experience at work, with a homeless man that shocked me a bit too and it made me realise how little services there are in place for them.

People seem to be stressed out more with their standard of living and lack of places to rent that isn't a ripoff or substandard.
Most people my age (27) are hardly able to save because of the high cost of rent, and a lot of us still live with our parents.
I'm earning 36k a year and the best quote I got for a mortgage was 80k with a 20k deposit.
Good luck trying to find a place buy with that pittance in the current market.

I'm going to attend the protest on saturday by myself. I'm sure a lot of people will sneer at the idea but **** it beats just moaning about it right? It's in inescapable with how often its on the radio/tv/news Never been to a protest before either.
Am I wrong?

I've never been into politics much but in the past few months I'm getting really sick of this government.

So anyway. What about ye?

johnnyskeleton

BlackandGreen wrote: »

So with all the media coverage and knock on effects we've been hearing about for the past few years in regards to the housing and homeless crisis, as they're calling it.
Have any of ye felt the effects? How concerned are you?

I think everyone is affected by it, either directly or indirectly. You might think that a couple in their 60s with the mortgage paid off might not be affected but they are - their children can't get a place or they might feel under pressure to leave the house that they have lived in to relocate to smaller house due to talk of increased property taxes etc.

Everyone would benefit from an increased supply of housing, especially in Dublin, bar people who are speculating on house prices etc.

As to how concerned, I think people who are currently facing rent hikes etc are accutely concerned but primarily about their own situation and don't have enough time to think of everyone else. For those not immediately concerned with looking for a new house/apt etc, there is still the general "what if I have to move to Cork for work" type problem and it can be unsettling.

IMO, housing should be the number one issue on everyone's mouth when the local council candidates come looking for your vote next year!

I'm going to attend the protest on saturday by myself. I'm sure a lot of people will sneer at the idea but **** it beats just moaning about it right? It's in inescapable with how often its on the radio/tv/news Never been to a protest before either.
Am I wrong?

Not wrong per se. But just be careful about who you are supporting and what they are really doing. Personally, I think the take back the city types do more harm than good. A debate should never be framed by the extremes, and while I take the point that a big gesture is sometimes needed to shake people into action, a lot of the stuff about breaking into places and forcibly occupying them as a stunt puts off the centre/middle ground.

If you want to affect change, maybe you could run for your local council, making housing your #1 issue.

L1011

Personally no, nor any direct family luckily. Friends - some hugely.

In work it's proving impossible to get staff for the bottom of the crash wages that our UK management still think is acceptable for some roles. Positions unfilled for 6 months or more in some cases. People cannot afford to even live in shared accommodation on the money being offered

VeryTerry

Yes. I live on a different continent now.

Franz Von Peppercorn

I’m ok. My sister was, however, kicked out of her rented house just before Christmas last year. It was like a scene from the 19C when we turned up to pick them up to distribute the family across relatives for Christmas.

Eric Cartman

Yes in some ways.

Its enabled estate agents to be lazy, dismissive and unrealistic again, Looking at 5 bedroom houses to share and they either won't call you back, won't show it to you and just want you to take it unseen or when you tell them that 5 people would like to live in a 5 bedroom house they act like you want to keep a hippo there, "the landlord only wants 3 people, they're looking for a couple - not a group sharing"

On the other side , the house I'm currently in (and have been for over 5 years) has had some other tenants come and go, which necessitates putting up ads to fill rooms. When looking for people to fill these spots were looking for specific enough people to suit the house (extroverted, likes going for drinks, social, a smoker or ok with smoking indoors, somebody who has a full time job) as the rental crisis has been getting worse we've had people continually show up who will flat out lie to you in order to try find a place to stay, super introverted hermits who only work part time and quietly sit in their room alone all the time running up the electricity bill with a heater, people who are aware its not a quiet house yet start complaining about the noise a few weeks in, and in one case a guy who used to just smoke heroin and pass out. the lack of choice is sending unsuitable tenants your way to view and pretend to be completely different to how they are.

ancapailldorcha

I think, as Johnnyskeleton has said above that it affects everyone.

It's not really healthy for society in the long run. I'm living in London but I doubt that my perspective is much different than that of someone living in Dublin. The thing is that the issue is multifaceted. In an age gone by, you'd simply tell someone who liked to moan about house prices to go to where its cheaper but in today's world where unskilled jobs have either emigrated or been taken by robots, that's not really an option so people have to cluster in cities driving up prices because onerous regulations, NIMBY's, homeowners and local authorities act to stifle new builds. Extortionate rents keep people from starting families and may help to make a society more vulnerable to populism because mainstream politicians won't address the issue as it's easier to cave into the desires of local homeowners and NIMBY's who are more likely to be older and vote.

While having less people on the planet would be a good idea, it has to be done in a sustainable manner. A generation that doesn't produce enough offspring could cause serious societal damage because it will leave a generation of pensioners with nobody to pay for their generous pensions.

New builds should be encouraged and planned so that they have proper infrastructure and suit the area that they are in. It would create good jobs in the short term and alleviate the pressure on housing stock in the long term.

L1011

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

It would create good jobs in the short term and alleviate the pressure on housing stock in the long term.

We've reached near Keynesian full employment nationally, at it in Dublin - extra construction jobs are going to be mainly returning migrants who will need housing. Rather inescapable though!