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[Baggie Rick]

We have a housing crisis, I see a simple solution (probably to simplistic) but when the companies renting massive office space realise they can rent smaller offices, surely the sensible thing to do would be convert the empty office blocks into apartments?

[baggy1]

We have a housing crisis, I see a simple solution (probably to simplistic) but when the companies renting massive office space realise they can rent smaller offices, surely the sensible thing to do would be convert the empty office blocks into apartments?

It appears to be a solution Rick - not sure how easy that would be, plus there are a lot of interested parties that want to keep the house prices high so flooding the market with new residential rental or purchase opportunities would suit everyone. It would make sense though as they have to be used for something and it gets the cities busy again.

[Ossian]

We have a housing crisis, I see a simple solution (probably to simplistic) but when the companies renting massive office space realise they can rent smaller offices, surely the sensible thing to do would be convert the empty office blocks into apartments?

There's a lot of sense in the idea, but when you look at was allowed to happen to Cavendish House over an extended period you'd have to wonder if there's the will.

[Borin' Baggie]

We have a housing crisis, I see a simple solution (probably to simplistic) but when the companies renting massive office space realise they can rent smaller offices, surely the sensible thing to do would be convert the empty office blocks into apartments?

Houses and flats have far more stringent requirements than offices, a lot of that office space won't be able to be converted or the costs to do that won't make any economical sense whatsoever.

I have a better solution - convert business rates to a land tax so people with small office space have fewer fees they need to pay, replace council tax with a land tax to make land banking difficult, have the government implement EU antitrust law on house building companies to break their stupid monopoly and introduce competition, strip back a lot of planning regulation (particularly in the stupid green belts) to make it easier to build new houses, amend council tax regulations to let councils keep all money from the stupid right to buy, give councils a huge block grant to replace the money lost to the Treasury thanks to right to buy since it was introduced and you have more of a market for house building, councils can build social homes, new garden villages a la Bournville become viable in high demand areas and office owners aren't being shagged in the arse bareback with stupid and punitive taxes. Plus, the owners of big distribution centres which are in for a boom will be paying more tax that they can't funnel out of the country to hide profits as they have more land and smaller independent companies will have fewer taxes to pay so they can thrive on the high street as a side effect. Everyone's wins but the Tory party donors!

[baggy1]

We have a housing crisis, I see a simple solution (probably to simplistic) but when the companies renting massive office space realise they can rent smaller offices, surely the sensible thing to do would be convert the empty office blocks into apartments?

Houses and flats have far more stringent requirements than offices, a lot of that office space won't be able to be converted or the costs to do that won't make any economical sense whatsoever.

I have a better solution - convert business rates to a land tax so people with small office space have fewer fees they need to pay, replace council tax with a land tax to make land banking difficult, have the government implement EU antitrust law on house building companies to break their stupid monopoly and introduce competition, strip back a lot of planning regulation (particularly in the stupid green belts) to make it easier to build new houses, amend council tax regulations to let councils keep all money from the stupid right to buy, give councils a huge block grant to replace the money lost to the Treasury thanks to right to buy since it was introduced and you have more of a market for house building, councils can build social homes, new garden villages a la Bournville become viable in high demand areas and office owners aren't being shagged in the arse bareback with stupid and punitive taxes. Plus, the owners of big distribution centres which are in for a boom will be paying more tax that they can't funnel out of the country to hide profits as they have more land and smaller independent companies will have fewer taxes to pay so they can thrive on the high street as a side effect. Everyone's wins but the Tory party donors!

You were doing so well with the idea as well  

[Protheroe]

You can already summarily convert redundant office buildings to flats, which is why housing standards have fallen so far in many of our city centres.

[baggy1]

Or you could accredit the fall in standards to the party in power who seem determined to get rid of all that nasty red tape that makes it difficult for their mates to make as much money as possible.

[Protheroe]

Yes, you could.

[baggy1]

But as ever, you won’t.

[Protheroe]

Really? I'm not a fan of summary planning consent to convert offices to residential. It's a bad policy.