ROOF Blog

Opinion is divided over whether buying or renting is the better housing policy.

Centre for Social Justice Executive director Philippa Stroud argues that property ownership is still one of the best defences against poverty.

Royal Society for the Arts chief executive Matthew Taylor counters that home ownership has increased social inequality in terms of the life chances and assets of people who own their own homes, arguing instead that we should foster a massive expansion in the private rental sector and improve the quality of the houses on offer.

Borrowers have been warned of soaring mortgage fees after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) called for lenders to assess income and spending in greater detail before approving loans.

Lenders are already under fire for introducing application charges of up to £1,000, which you lose if you back out or the loan offer is withdrawn – a problem not uncommon in today’s mortgage market.

Brokers say that plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to make all borrowers pass an ‘affordability test’ that scrutinises their spending habits mean that fees could go even higher.

Savills Private Finance broker Melanie Bien said: ‘Any step-up in regulation means more cost, and higher costs tend to be passed on to consumers.

‘Lenders are likely to favour higher charges over the alternative option of increasing interest rates as it is a less visible way of raising costs.

‘This will be unhelpful, especially for first-time buyers, for whom every penny counts.’

Peter Boggis, 78, has spent tens of thousands of pounds building earth barriers to protect his home at Easton Barriers, near Southwold, Suffolk, and those of his neighbours which are threatened by erosion to the cliffs on which they stand. But Natural England, the Government conservation agency, wants the fossil-rich cliffs to wear away, exposing strata of soil and rock for study. Mr Boggis had carried out the work carried out on the sea defences without planning permission, and the Court of Appeal said in its judgement that the only lawful course now open to Mr Boggis was to apply for permission and go through the correct planning process. Mr Boggis, whose house, The Warren, is 302ft from the cliff edge, says his defences have so far saved more than eight acres of land and four properties ‘at no cost to the nation’ and that his efforts would, if anything, slow down the expected loss of habitat on the wildlife site.