Wednesday, Apr 28, 2010
A generation consigned to live in a shed in their parents' garden
Telegraph: Sales of £1,000 garden sheds shoot up
"The Future Foundation, a consultancy, predicts that in a decade's time nearly two thirds of 20 to 24 year old men and a quarter of 25 to 29 year old women will be living with their parents, further increasing the need for many households to find extra space."
Posted by tenant super @ 08:00 AM (1816 views) Add Comment
25 Comments
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1. holyroller said...
They could always rent somewhere instead.
2. Crunchy said...
Who would have thought years ago that a Caravan, Narrowboat or a secret forest underground bunker would be objects of high aspiration.
Third World Globalisation? "Britian, we're getting there."
3. drewster said...
Two obvious problems with living in a shed:
1) It's too cold in winter (even with double-glazing).
2) No plumbing = no bathroom.
4. the number cruncher said...
I have a mate that installs wood burning stoves in these luxury sheds for heating. Not only are people building big sheds for their children but many are doing it to then rent out. Landlords all over Stroud and Gloucester are doing it to add an extra room to their rental properties.
Totally illegal of course.
Mind you wood buildings are cheap and very good way of increasing the housing stock.
5. uncle tom said...
Drewster,
It's cheap and easy to line out a shed with ply or plasterboard, and sandwich in enough insulation to make it quite cosy. Water is easy to lay on, and the technology to macerate and shift waste water into the public sewer - even if has to be pumped uphill - is readily available and affordable.
There are significant planning issues to face, and if people want to do things by the book; they will probably run into problems on that score.
However, planning enforcement almost invariably follows complaints from neighbours; so if they are kept sweet, there is unlikely to be an issue.
For every super shed, there is one less house needed..
..supply and demand will eventually prevail..!
6. mark wadsworth said...
Another Triumph Of Home-Owner-Ism - the country's nearly bankrupting itself bailing out the banks to prop up house prices and young people are living in sheds. Brilliant. This completely accords with the Tory mantra about "everybody owning their own home". Not.
7. tenant super said...
I have a small shed which I use as a study/ workshop and it is usable even in the winter. The shed can be used as a retreat/ living room in summer for adult children and gives a bit more room ... I don't think most people would suggest kids use the shed alone and not the kitchen/bathroom facilities of the house!
Years ago, I would have agreed with holyroller and I moved out of home on a permanent basis as soon as I graduated, renting for a couple of years and then buying at the age of 23. But now, I would encourage a renters' strike as well as a buyers' strike. If all you can afford is a room to rent, you may as well rent that room from your parents (often at at a discounted rate). Better your rent pays the mortgage on the house you will one day inherit ...
8. W01921 said...
I sense a bubble forming in the garden shed market, quick all pile in!!
9. titaniccaptain said...
Worth a look...........something I am desperate for!!!
http://www.henleyoffices.com/
10. tenant super said...
The pros of an office shed are being less likely to be disturbed by other household members, feeling of being in a designated workspace is more conducive to work, fewer distractions than if you had an office in the main house.
The cons are wireless internet is a bit slower (though this is probably just mine), can be unusable in extreme weather (such as the February snow), heating is expensive if the shed isn't lagged/ insulated (this can be overcome by buying a more expensive model like these Henley rooms), security issues.
11. 51ck-6-51x said...
Woke up this morning
Closed in on all sides
Nothing doing
I feel resistance
As I open my eyes
Someone's fooling
I've found a way to break
Through this cellophane line
Cause I know what's going on
In my own mind...
Am I living in a shed?
Am I living in a wooden shed?
Am I living in a shed?
Am I living in a wooden shed?
Am I living in a shed?
12. landofconfusion said...
@ 5. mark wadsworth said...
This completely accords with the Tory mantra about "everybody owning their own home".
How does that work? Didn't they start off this AST-BTL thing? Or is it "everybody owning their own homes"?
13. mark wadsworth said...
LOC, I was being ironic.
The Tory Home-Owner-ists "encourage home ownership" by flogging off council houses at a huge discount to people who move out three years later and start letting them back to the council; by protecting The Hallowed Greenbelt i.e. preventing new supply; by "helping first time buyers" (with stamp duty cuts that merely inflate the price); by "freezing council tax" that also tends to inflate the price; and by lifting the limits on how much banks can lend to FTBs.
They rejigged tenancy rules in 1988 as well, which, taken in isolation was a good thing to do, but let us not forget that a large part of the fact that the UK moved to owner-occupation was the old rent acts which made it commercial suicide to become a residential landlord.
14. 51ck-6-51x said...
MW - Cutting stamp duty or freezing council tax may inflate prices but it should have no lasting effect on affordability (although changes will cause a temporary distortion, most certainly) - the same could be said of estate agent or solicitor's fees or of the spread over the real interest rate of mortgage rates (the difference between these and the taxes, however, is that the former are functions of competition). The discounted selling of council housing stock and the changes to banking and rental regulations would have had a lasting effect on affordability though.
15. ontheotherhand said...
The fact that people are buying 100% more of household adorning show off my wealth to the neighbours frippery than 12 months ago is neither here nor there. It could mean that sales had fallen to an incredible low and have bounced a little bit, or at the same time it could mean that the credit cards are out again with the sunny weather.
I don't see how the projection that so many more young will be living with their parents squares with the unquestioned projections for ever more households needed every year. Yes these new households come from divorce and immigration too, but the bulk was supposed to be demand from people wanting to live alone. If all these 20 somethings live at home, then who is renting or buying all the new stock being built for them?
16. landofconfusion said...
"If all these 20 somethings live at home, then who is renting or buying all the new stock being built for them?"
BTL'ers. New stock is attractive as it's usually built in areas where there is substantial demand and because newer housing is less likely to come with faults.
17. landofconfusion said...
Duh. Close tag.
18. ontheotherhand said...
If these people are living with their parents then they are not renting either, or am I missing something?
19. jack c said...
Crikey those google adds are sharp off the mark - see advertising banner at top of this thread !
20. uncle tom said...
Jack C,
Yes..
..I wonder if we could manipulate this - what key words would we need to enter to get a pretty face up there, instead of some boring shed?
21. tenant super said...
If all these 20 somethings live at home, then who is renting or buying all the new stock being built for them?"
BTL'ers. New stock is attractive as it's usually built in areas where there is substantial demand and because newer housing is less likely to come with faults.
I think that's the grumble, certainly from PricedOut. They say, the BTL can get finance on better terms and outbid them. Then they rent the property back to the people they outbid. Hence my point about a renters strike. If all young renting professionals all decided to move back to their parents for a couple of years, all those void 1 and 2 bedroom flats might fall within their reach again.
22. landofconfusion said...
@ 19. tenant super said...
I think that's the grumble, certainly from PricedOut. They say, the BTL can get finance on better terms and outbid them.
BTL'er have the advantage in that many if not most borrow against a HP-index linked asses (i.e. their main house). This was usually brought before AST's and BTL became popular/deregulated and so has significant equity. This allows them to borrow against what is usually a family home and buy a smaller 1 or 2 bed property to rent out.
This in turn causes prices from that size housing and above to increase, pushing FTB'ers out of the market and making them renters who in turn pay the BTL'ers mortgage.
"If all young renting professionals all decided to move back to their parents for a couple of years, all those void 1 and 2 bedroom flats might fall within their reach again."
Absolutely. Although BTL'ers seem to be filling the gap left by priced-out FTB'ers, they still need those FTB'ers to rent. If they didn't then the bottom would soon fall out of the BTL market.
23. Crunchy said...
19.
A lot more immigration and the devaluation of Sterling mate. 'Whatever it takes' to protect banks.
24. Jess said...
I've thought for a long time about living in a shed at the bottom of someone's garden - have tried and tried to look for such resources over the internet but found nothing... Please someone tell me where I can look, my little whippet and I would be so happy!
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