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Landlords can hike the rent unfairly at the end of the rental period, kick you out to sell, and the mandatory term is short. Also, there are plenty of circles w

Landlords can hike the rent unfairly at the end of the rental period, kick you out to sell, and the mandatory term is short. Also, there are plenty of circles where lack of property ownership equals social death. Additionally missing out on rising property values can, due to increasingly inadequate pension provision, leave you far poorer in retirement, and even have a knock on effect on your offspring given the importance of the bank of mum and dad for younger buyers. I'd argue that all in all not owning property can hugely affect your life chances here in the UK. You just have to watch one of the TV shows about high court bailiffs or evictions etc. to see what things are like at the sharp end for renters. Do you think I am exaggerating? In some ways I see the UK as a semi-feudal state. Monarchy, rigid class system, concentration of land ownership in few hands (even worse in Scotland than England), property law that exploits the renter, etc.

GordonS 8y ago
> there are plenty of circles where lack of property ownership equals social death I'm not sure what you mean; I can't imagine any circle where anyone would care either way. > You just have to watch one of the TV shows about high court bailiffs or evictions etc. to see what things are like at the sharp end for renters. Sorry, I make a point of not watching trash on Channel 5 ;) > Do you think I am exaggerating? No, I didn't say or even suggest that - I'm honestly just trying to understand what you mean. Also, you made a good point regarding retirement.
- growlist 8y ago
  So you're not a property snob, but you are a TV snob eh?! I remember an advert from maybe 15 years ago about a couple selling up to go abroad, cutting from the couple's brilliant new life to their snarky friends at a dinner party, one person saying 'where have they gone' with another responding 'straight to the bottom of the property ladder'. I guess the agency behind it must have thought it would be a familiar concept back then, and the property market has got even worse in the meantime. Middle class Britain can be a competitive place, no? Also I think The Good Life satirised this type of outlook even further back.
  - GordonS 8y ago
    My Channel 5 comment was meant to be in jest. I didn't see it, but I'm not sure the point of the scene you mention was 'property snobbery'; it sounds like it was perhaps a dig at those people with a chip on their shoulder who hate when others have something they don't and will grasp at any pathetic attempt to mock them.
    - growlist 8y ago
      Back to your original query. Its easy to find sources that mesh with my choice of words. 'Renting carries a stigma. "There is a social expectation to own a house at a certain point. You're made to feel like a second-class citizen if you rent."' 'But in the UK it can feel like a second-class system. There are limited protections' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22952667 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22952667 And the ad would have no poignancy unless there were something recognisable about there being status attached to property, would it? Anyway I think you are being deliberately obtuse or picking up on my choice of words whilst ignoring the main point, which is that property ownership is a critical differentiating element in life chances in the UK, and with that I bid you adieu.
      - GordonS 8y ago
        > Anyway I think you are being deliberately obtuse I was absolutely not. I am however, also very much done here.

GordonS 8y ago

> there are plenty of circles where lack of property ownership equals social death I'm not sure what you mean; I can't imagine any circle where anyone would care either way. > You just have to watch one of the TV shows about high court bailiffs or evictions etc. to see what things are like at the sharp end for renters. Sorry, I make a point of not watching trash on Channel 5 ;) > Do you think I am exaggerating? No, I didn't say or even suggest that - I'm honestly just trying to understand what you mean. Also, you made a good point regarding retirement.

growlist 8y ago
So you're not a property snob, but you are a TV snob eh?! I remember an advert from maybe 15 years ago about a couple selling up to go abroad, cutting from the couple's brilliant new life to their snarky friends at a dinner party, one person saying 'where have they gone' with another responding 'straight to the bottom of the property ladder'. I guess the agency behind it must have thought it would be a familiar concept back then, and the property market has got even worse in the meantime. Middle class Britain can be a competitive place, no? Also I think The Good Life satirised this type of outlook even further back.
- GordonS 8y ago
  My Channel 5 comment was meant to be in jest. I didn't see it, but I'm not sure the point of the scene you mention was 'property snobbery'; it sounds like it was perhaps a dig at those people with a chip on their shoulder who hate when others have something they don't and will grasp at any pathetic attempt to mock them.
  - growlist 8y ago
    Back to your original query. Its easy to find sources that mesh with my choice of words. 'Renting carries a stigma. "There is a social expectation to own a house at a certain point. You're made to feel like a second-class citizen if you rent."' 'But in the UK it can feel like a second-class system. There are limited protections' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22952667 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22952667 And the ad would have no poignancy unless there were something recognisable about there being status attached to property, would it? Anyway I think you are being deliberately obtuse or picking up on my choice of words whilst ignoring the main point, which is that property ownership is a critical differentiating element in life chances in the UK, and with that I bid you adieu.
    - GordonS 8y ago
      > Anyway I think you are being deliberately obtuse I was absolutely not. I am however, also very much done here.