The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

56 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Fair points, I've often noticed that Valleys folk often have very little to do with people from the next valley, sometimes not going to somewhere (even when there is a road over the top) 3-4 miles away except perhaps once a decade. 

 

However, silly speed limits or not, I remembered where Bargoed is and looked up journeys to it on Google Maps.  From the centre of Newport: by car, 40 minutes (that's with some slight disruption; by train 71 minutes.  From the centre of Cardiff it's about 50 minutes by either mode.  Millions of people commute for an hour to get to work.  The guy needs to get off his @rse.

I've read the article, and although he complained about having to look for rented property up to 20 miles away, he did eventually find a flat in the village (I presume Bargoed).

 

I think you might be a little harsh on him as he is certainly not workshy: Getting a job in Bargoed is testament to that, as it is not the finest place on the planet, and then had to start looking for property.

 

I presume his story only came to light because he was on an agents rental list when the BBC researchers came knocking, otherwise it would have been another no story.

 

The point the BBC article was making is the dearth of houses for rental, whilst so many are standing empty.

 

It is a problem in Wales, probably more so than in England, in part due to the stringent requirement laid down by the Senedd and that Landlords have be registered with RentsmartWales. Landlords also need to be qualified through written examination.  They have to maintain properties to a minimal acceptable standard, and are responsible for regular mandatory safety checks.

 

This is reflected in a number of Landlords not wanting to keep re-qualifying, so are selling up, whilst potential new landlords are put off by the registration and qualification requirements.

 

Of course when they sell up, the properties can be taken for second homes.

 

The rental situation is not helped by the number of Air B'n'Bs that have now popped up in Wales.  Yes, there are various rules, but they are certainly not as stringent or require the same levels of qualification by the hosts.  Many second homes appear to be rented out in this way.

 

 

[jamie92208]

Having grown up in Yorkshire village that was blighted by second home ownership in the 60's I have some empathy with such problems.  The problem was that one  celebrity moved from Manchester to live there and many of his arty f@rty mates followed him.  Most of the kids in my primary school class couldn't afford houses when they needed to leave home. 

 

Jamie

Edited November 9, 2023 by jamie92208

[br2975]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Fair points, I've often noticed that Valleys folk often have very little to do with people from the next valley, sometimes not going to somewhere (even when there is a road over the top) 3-4 miles away except perhaps once a decade. 

 

.

And your point is ?

.

Why go somewhere, if you have no pressing need to go there - be it the next street, or next valley.

[AndyID]

Slinky now deployed on bird feeder pole. The mouse situation remains unresolved. Have to drive Lorna to the airport shortly. Takes about an hour. She's visiting a friend in Utah for a few days.

Edited November 8, 2023 by AndyID

[newbryford]

On my way home from work, I had a random thought.

 

"Was I supposed to order the new electric shower unit for the bathroom refit that starts tomorrow, or had Mrs NB already done it?".

 

Within a few minutes of arriving home, the answer was determined as yes and no.

 

But - for the extra price of a couple of lengths of 00 track compared to a longer delivery date, one will be available at at a local DIY emporium tomorrow  - or at worst Friday - so in plenty of time.

 

Whilst the shower unit is equivalent to about 1.75 sound fitted loco tokens, it is but a small drop in the ocean, compared to the tokens consumed in the overall plan.

 

We will be bath and showerless as of sometime tomorrow. 

As Mrs NB wants a walk-in type shower, we will be bathless when washing facilities are restored.

 

The refit coincides with a period of MIL-sitting, so we will be using the facilities there, whilst commuting to and from home for a few days.

 

My primary task this evening was to lift a couple of boards in the loft to enable the bathroom fitter and sparky to access the ceiling space above the bathroom. My foresight from about 25 years ago quickly came to fruition as they had been laid with easy lifting as a future consideration and after 30 minutes or so of screw removal and swearing it was mission accomplished. 

An hour of loft tidying the night before to facilitate board removal has prompted a "let's do a de-clutter" when I put the boards back into place in a few days.

 

We shall see if that happens...

 

Have a good night folks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[newbryford]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

 

It is a problem in Wales, probably more so than in England, in part due to the stringent requirement laid down by the Senedd and that Landlords have be registered with RentsmartWales. Landlords also need to be qualified through written examination. 

 

 

 

Do they accept chalk on slates as a written exam?

[AndyID]

5 minutes ago, newbryford said:

On my way home from work, I had a random thought.

 

"Was I supposed to order the new electric shower unit for the bathroom refit that starts tomorrow, or had Mrs NB already done it?".

 

Within a few minutes of arriving home, the answer was determined as yes and no.

 

But - for the extra price of a couple of lengths of 00 track compared to a longer delivery date, one will be available at at a local DIY emporium tomorrow  - or at worst Friday - so in plenty of time.

 

Whilst the shower unit is equivalent to about 1.75 sound fitted loco tokens, it is but a small drop in the ocean, compared to the tokens consumed in the overall plan.

 

We will be bath and showerless as of sometime tomorrow. 

As Mrs NB wants a walk-in type shower, we will be bathless when washing facilities are restored.

 

The refit coincides with a period of MIL-sitting, so we will be using the facilities there, whilst commuting to and from home for a few days.

 

My primary task this evening was to lift a couple of boards in the loft to enable the bathroom fitter and sparky to access the ceiling space above the bathroom. My foresight from about 25 years ago quickly came to fruition as they had been laid with easy lifting as a future consideration and after 30 minutes or so of screw removal and swearing it was mission accomplished. 

An hour of loft tidying the night before to facilitate board removal has prompted a "let's do a de-clutter" when I put the boards back into place in a few days.

 

We shall see if that happens...

 

Have a good night folks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sure you could obtain a tin bath and plonk it in the shower when required.

[Northmoor]

9 minutes ago, br2975 said:

.

And your point is ?

.

Why go somewhere, if you have no pressing need to go there - be it the next street, or next valley.

Perhaps I'm unusual (no kidding, many say) in that I have a curiosity about the world and want to know "what's over the hill".  Maybe many people simply aren't?  I've met people who live on Portsea Island (on which Portsmouth is built) who said they hadn't left the island in over five years.  Similarly, but less surprising, are people who've not left the Isle of Portland, but that's another place where the tropes about "a lot of cousins" apply.

 

My frustration with the subject of the article I read this morning wasn't with his willingness to work (which he clearly had), it was his reluctance to travel to work.  He's not the first; a guy made redundant from a company I worked for, lived almost next door to it in Malvern.  Three years later he was still complaining on-line about having taken a pay cut and turning down jobs in Worcester, because in the morning rush hour the traffic was terrible and he might have to spend 40 minutes in the car, wasting his life he called it, but then still complained that his former employer had ruined his life.  It's quite simple; in an even distribution, the number of job opportunities increases with the square of the distance travelled, so you might as well make yourself mobile.

[br2975]

18 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Perhaps I'm unusual (no kidding, many say) in that I have a curiosity about the world and want to know "what's over the hill".  Maybe many people simply aren't?  I've met people who live on Portsea Island (on which Portsmouth is built) who said they hadn't left the island in over five years.  Similarly, but less surprising, are people who've not left the Isle of Portland, but that's another place where the tropes about "a lot of cousins" apply.

 

.

I can assure you that the 'Valley Commandos' do leave their caves from time to time, and venture into the outside world.

.

However, the topography of the South Wales Valleys doesn't lend itself to just  'ambling over the hill' into the next valley just to see what it is like there, and to check the natives are no longer burning witches.

.

Perhaps you should have been with me yesterday evening travelling the 8 miles from Pontyclun to Porth, which was undertaken all on 'A' roads (primarily the A4119) and yet took me 45 minutes, and, on my return the traffic was even heavier, lityerally crawling from Porth back as far Talbot Green.

.

Of course, I could have opted for the Stagecoach 122 Service, and walked the mile to the bus stop in Pontyclun, then spent a tad under an hour on the bus, before walking the last half mile at the Porth end.

.

Or, Plan C, take the train from Pontyclun into Cardiff, then a train to Radyr, and a rail replacement bus to Pontypridd, and change for another rail replacement bus, to Porth.

 

Things aren't always what they seem when all one has is a media story. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by br2975

[PhilJ W]

56 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Having grown up in Yorkshire village that was blighted by second home ownership in the 60's I have some empathy with such problems.  The problewas that one  elebritymmoved from Manchester to live there and many of his arty f@rty mates followed him.  Most of the kids in my primary school class couldn't afford houses when they needed to leave home. 

 

Jamie

And on the council tax the get a 50% reduction. If you can afford a second home you should be able to afford the full council tax. In fact extra should be paid on second homes and the revenue raised used to provide public housing for the locals.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[SM42]

4 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

An hour of loft tidying the night before to facilitate board removal has prompted a "let's do a de-clutter" when I put the boards back into place in a few days.

 

We shall see if that happens...

 

 

 

I need to de clutter the loft.

 

It was filled just before the building work started as a way of getting things moved PDQ as the start date sort of crept up, as deadlines seem to do.

 

Fortunately, a previous de clutter had made some space (and cash.)

 

This is another job to be done when Mrs SM42 has left the country for a few days. 

 

Andy

[jamie92208]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

And on the council tax the get a 50% reduction. If you can afford a second home you should be able to afford the full council tax. In fact extra should be paid on second homes and the revenue raised used to provide public housing for the locals.

I agree, here in France absentee owners, have to pay the full tax fonciere which is the equivalent of council tax. They also have to pay a second home tax.  In our village of 60 people we have about 9 second homes and at least three derelict ones that may or may not pay tax.  6 are British and Irish owned the rest French. At least two of those are tied up in french inheritance law disputes.  There is a catch though. Since Brexit quite a few part timers have sold up because of the 90 day in 180 rule.  Some communes have realised that they are losing out economically and there is a campaign being debated in the French Senate to relax the system of residency permits for second home owners.  They have realised how much the expats spend when they are over here. 

 

Jamie

Edited November 9, 2023 by jamie92208

[iL Dottore]

Second homes???

 

A bit of a conundrum in Switzerland as many places in the Alps depend on (mostly) winter sports season to generate (most of) their income. So in addition to holidays homes (mostly flats) there are also quite a few hotels that are basically empty in the off season. But when the winter sports season starts these places are heaving and the incomers (especially in those areas favoured by the nouveau riche and oligarchs) are spending money like drunken sailors. There are also limitations on who can buy property there.

 

The other factor, at least in the areas of Switzerland I know fairly well, is that without winter sports (and in summer, in some places, hikers and ramblers) there really isn’t much in the way of employment opportunities. Many places, like where we have the holiday hovel, are basically Ghost-Towns in the off season - many people move away to the “big city” for employment opportunities. And whilst it might be a soothing and relaxing experience to wake up to the sound of cow bells with the prospect of a day of dolce far niente for us wrinklies, these “ferien ort” must be deadly dull to the under 30s.

 

Plus, in addition to paying into the local economy (shopping, eating out, hotel stays), the Kanton and the Gemeinde waste no time in collecting taxes - whether visitor tax (hotel stays and flat/chalet rentals) or taxes on second residences.

 

Finally, looking at the prices of property in the Kanton where we have the Holiday Hovel (we’re thinking of  buying a house and moving there permanently) property prices are considerably lower than in the Big Bad City and what’s more have remained pretty stable over the last several years. The property price bubble seen in the UK seems to have missed most of Switzerland – with the exception of highly desirable and very expensive areas of Geneva, Lausanne Zürich and Bern.

[iL Dottore]

11 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

It is a problem in Wales, probably more so than in England, in part due to the stringent requirement laid down by the Senedd and that Landlords have be registered with RentsmartWales. Landlords also need to be qualified through written examination.  They have to maintain properties to a minimal acceptable standard, and are responsible for regular mandatory safety checks.

 

This is reflected in a number of Landlords not wanting to keep re-qualifying, so are selling up, whilst potential new landlords are put off by the registration and qualification requirements.

Why is that a problem? Most people in Switzerland rent and there are very stringent rules and regulations that landlords (often pension funds) have to abide by. Furthermore, tenants also have obligations - some of which are part of the rental agreement and some of which are enforceable by law.

 

All the above means that the whole “mould-infested, damp and squalid apartment at £3000/ month” and “tenants from hell” business is avoided. Of course, as always and as everywhere, you get what you pay for; an apartment renting for SFr 10,000/month is going to be better appointed (and located) than one costing SFr 1,500/month.

 

But whatever you pay, the rented apartment will be clean, dry, safe, have central heating and have reasonable kitchen appliances built in. You may have a washing machine in your apartment (or space for one) or a dedicated wash area (Waschküche) with an allotted “waschtag”. House maintenance is a constant (a hauswart looks after the building) and repairs generally prompt and efficient.

 

It’s not perfect (what is?) but Britain would do well to look at how the DACH countries manage apartment living, adopting the continental approach would go a long way to addressing the “affordable housing” situation…

[Winslow Boy]

6 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Why is that a problem? Most people in Switzerland rent and there are very stringent rules and regulations that landlords (often pension funds) have to abide by. Furthermore, tenants also have obligations - some of which are part of the rental agreement and some of which are enforceable by law.

 

All the above means that the whole “mould-infested, damp and squalid apartment at £3000/ month” and “tenants from hell” business is avoided. Of course, as always and as everywhere, you get what you pay for; an apartment renting for SFr 10,000/month is going to be better appointed (and located) than one costing SFr 1,500/month.

 

But whatever you pay, the rented apartment will be clean, dry, safe, have central heating and have reasonable kitchen appliances built in. You may have a washing machine in your apartment (or space for one) or a dedicated wash area (Waschküche) with an allotted “waschtag”. House maintenance is a constant (a hauswart looks after the building) and repairs generally prompt and efficient.

 

It’s not perfect (what is?) but Britain would do well to look at how the DACH countries manage apartment living, adopting the continental approach would go a long way to addressing the “affordable housing” situation…

Having read some of the comments about the various requirements being enforced on land lords it is perhaps relevant to relay the fact that in his later life my father specialised in housing  for his job as an environmental health officer. Your talking something like forty years ago now and he used to say that there were some landlords who really shouldn't be free. The fact that the situation hasn't changed much and has in fact got worse I think reflects that too many see property as  solely as a 'get rich scheme'. Don't get me wrong there are some landlords who are very conscientious, just like there are some tenants who are  £_&£#@ but without enforcement and minimum standards you will always get abuse.

[polybear]

2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Don't get me wrong there are some landlords who are very conscientious, just like there are some tenants who are  £_&£#@ but without enforcement and minimum standards you will always get abuse.

 

Bear once fleetingly considered that buying a flat to rent out might be a reasonable idea, but soon realised that the Stock Market was a lot less aggro and with no chance of Bear having to evict some scrote using a big stick with a nail thru' it cos' they hadn't paid rent in 6 months and were wrecking the place.

As for getting tenants to play fair - well you can only sue a tenant for unpaid rent or damage caused if they have the means to pay up (which many don't); there's very little chance that the Law can prosecute them either cos' the Prisons are already full.

Until they come up with a scheme where ALL Tenants have to have a Passport (or very similar) which is shown at the start of the tenancy; if they're a nightmare and don't pay the rent/wreck the place then that is recorded on their File and that then makes them unable to rent again until the damage/loss is rectified.  So if they don't play fair they end up homeless thru' their own fault.  There's plenty of people prepared to play fair all queuing up for rental properties.

 

Of course to be fair all the sh1t Landlords need to be jumped on in a similar manner; I'd also charge full Council Tax on second homes etc. and any property not meeting minimum usage requirements (or being rented out) has to be sold or it'll be seized and sold - that should soon stop thousands of homes from standing empty for years on end (and hopefully they'll be refurbished where necessary, which should gradually improve run-down areas).

[Happy Hippo]

It's not a problem if you are registered and keep up to date with re-certification, which of course is mandatory. As you will no doubt guess, the certification can only be acquired from one source, who, having a monopoly, charge considerable fees for the privilege of the 'closed shop' they created. 

 

'The landlords, often Pension Funds' ...

 

You have no concept of how the UK rental market works.  The Swiss system is a model that we'd all like to follow, but the UK system is too fragmented and the only Corporate Landlords, apart from a few in the various big smokes', are the local councils and their housing schemes or their sub contracted 'housing associations'.

 

The problem is landlords who only have one property to rent, have to jump through the same hops as those who have several.  The cost increment for them to start up or re-register is therefore higher.  

 

If increasing numbers of private landlords in Wales are voting with their feet and reducing the available rental market, then that is telling us something about how the system operates..

 

(The term tenant have now been replaced with contract holder.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BachelorBoy]

13 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

 

The point the BBC article was making is the dearth of houses for rental, whilst so many are standing empty.

 

It is a problem in Wales, probably more so than in England, in part due to the stringent requirement laid down by the Senedd and that Landlords have be registered with RentsmartWales. Landlords also need to be qualified through written examination.  They have to maintain properties to a minimal acceptable standard, and are responsible for regular mandatory safety checks.

 

This is reflected in a number of Landlords not wanting to keep re-qualifying, so are selling up, whilst potential new landlords are put off by the registration and qualification requirements.

 

Of course when they sell up, the properties can be taken for second homes.

 

 

The Law of Unintended Consequences

 

Well-meaning interventions in markets result in unexpected effects that go against the spirit of the intervention.  

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

It's not a problem if you are registered and keep up to date with re-certification, which of course is mandatory. As you will no doubt guess, the certification can only be acquired from one source, who, having a monopoly, charge considerable fees for the privilege of the 'closed shop' they created. 

 

'The landlords, often Pension Funds' ...

 

You have no concept of how the UK rental market works.  The Swiss system is a model that we'd all like to follow, but the UK system is too fragmented and the only Corporate Landlords, apart from a few in the various big smokes', are the local councils and their housing schemes or their sub contracted 'housing associations'.

 

The problem is landlords who only have one property to rent, have to jump through the same hops as those who have several.  The cost increment for them to start up or re-register is therefore higher.  

 

If increasing numbers of private landlords in Wales are voting with their feet and reducing the available rental market, then that is telling us something about how the system operates..

 

(The term tenant have now been replaced with contract holder.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Buddy rented his flat to the Council, who then rented it to a Tenant; the income Buddy received was less but the Council got all the aggro and also had to return the property to the same standard that they received it in at the start.

[PhilJ W]

The house next door to mine has been a rental for about six years. Half of that time it has been empty, the first tenants were a Lithuanian couple with a young baby, not bad neighbours but they returned home after Brexit. The second tenant was housed by social services and turned out to be an alcoholic and left the place in a mess and with some of the household appliances wrecked. As it was let via a local estate agents there was a dispute over who would pay for the damage. It was then empty for two years as there was a massive refurbishment until it was let earlier this year to a couple with two little girls. Since then they have the back garden paved over in porcelain tiles except for a small area of artificial grass. I can only think its a tax avoidance scheme. The couple who rent it now are nurses at the local hospital so should be OK.

Edited November 9, 2023 by PhilJ W

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Britain would do well to look at how the DACH countries manage apartment living,

It's a sound model, but depends on a disciplined population willing to vote it in and then comply with it. The British population majors on  'I'll do it my way', and since that's been the case since historical records commenced here, little probability of that changing.

 

Current example: a nephew rents two rooms in a 200 year old wreck of a large house in London, which is in multiple occupancy; he loves it; great location and all that, the others in the place are lovely. He's on the half of my English wife's side of the family that's all free spirited arty butterflies.

 

I, (Dutch calvinist upbringing) assess it as in at best 'dubious' condition for occupancy, (structural, services, hygiene) but the Local Authority clearly have much greater problems before them demanding immediate attention. so turn a blind eye to something that 'works', in that no-one is actively complaining about it or causing social problems.

 

Oliver Cromwell would have this sorted out swiftly: but while the populace were mostly respectful untiil he died; it was restoration of the party life style swiftly thereafter...

[Compound2632]

42 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Since then they have the back garden paved over in porcelain tiles except for a small area of artificial grass. I can only think its a tax avoidance scheme. 

 

I wasn't aware of the lawn tax? Perhaps that's why all my neighbours have paved over their front lawns. The multiple cars are merely an afterthought to excuse the act...

[Dave Hunt]

The best laid plans of mice and men etc....

My hoped for day in the shed and a Zoom meeting with friends this afternoon has turned out to be anything but; this morning friends we haven't seen for quite a while rang to say that they would shortly be in our vicinity so could they 'pop in' for a coffee - cue panic mode and rapid tidying up of Hunt Towers. The phone had barely had time to reset when another call offered me a cancelled appointment this afternoon to see the muculoskeletal team at the hospital to assess what they can do for me in terms of pain relief while I am waiting for my spine operation. This resulted in a plan for Jill to come with me and - wait for it - go shopping on the way home. I then discovered that HH was also planning on a visit but that too has perforce been put on hold. Ah, well, there's always tomorrow I suppose.

And I once thought that being retired meant the freedom to do whatever I liked whenever it suited me.

 

Dave

[petethemole]

14 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Perhaps I'm unusual (no kidding, many say) in that I have a curiosity about the world and want to know "what's over the hill".  Maybe many people simply aren't?  I've met people who live on Portsea Island (on which Portsmouth is built) who said they hadn't left the island in over five years.  Similarly, but less surprising, are people who've not left the Isle of Portland, but that's another place where the tropes about "a lot of cousins" apply.

In the late '80s I met the then County Archaeologist for the Isle of Wight, who lived a few miles south of Newport, separated by a range of hills.  There were people in his village who had never travelled to Newport.