@JCoure I am sorry I defended you to another poster, who was referring to you, when she spoke of 'cruelty'.
You are very unkind and you have such a blind spot towards the ALP that you cannot even employ civilised language when talking about our present PM.
I have respected every PM in this country, and I have been a voter since the late 1960s.
In my country of origin - before my time, there was a huge housing shortage for the poorer folk in Austria - same as in England.
After WWI there was a socialist government in power in Austria, and specifically Vienna (that was after the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and war reparation payments to the victors etc. made the country and especially ordinary people even poorer) - well that socialist government decided to build housing and they did a wonderful job. They built mostly multi-story (up to 5 stories) housing complexes, often surrounding a large playground in the middle, facilities for laundry on top, right next to the top floor just for hanging out the wash (I loved being up there), even an individual cellar for each tenant included. and
they spread these apartment blocks all over the city, working-class and more up-market ones. Vienna then was called 'Red Vienna'
It was the best policy which provided a decent way of growing up for generations of working-class kids - I was one of them after WWII.
As a result of that successful model, several semi-private investments groupings of private citizens have taken up the same idea and formed building societies and built similar homes, some even grander ones - as in 'houses' but on large communal blocks with communal facilities for underground parking, a communal swimming pool, playgrounds etc.
The societies are initially accessible via a savings account - when there is enough in the kitty (they have now been going for a while, so they are now on a continuum) apartment blocks or individual houses within an estate are built, the savers can move in and continue to pay off their homes, and continue with small rental payments. On the original owners' death, their children have a right to the same flat or house, if they don't take it up it is re-sold, but the children do not get an 'inheritance'. The homes are large, with an upper storey, have a small back yard, neat front double entrance - 1 toilet downstairs, bath and toilet (and small room for washing machine etc.) upstairs, exit from living room to a small terrace, then a small garden - hedges on either side give privacy.
'Similar policies and the resultant building activities were and are still being carried out all over Europe, especially in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but of course, there is still a huge wave of immigrants to house - these are often housed in the older post WWI units - many of the original inhabitants having moved on in the world, often moved to the outer suburbs, some even into individual houses.
Of course, there is still 'trafficking' going on in flats, houses - a friend of mine recently 'sold' his rental home (2-bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom) for a so-called Ablöse of Euro150000. All illegal, of course, but based on an unspoken understand, that the landlord gets a percentage as well, but with a new tenant he has the right to negotiate the rental agreement. (Rents are protected by law and not subject to the whims of the owner).
With the numbers of people on this planet, I believe the idea of one house to a large block of land has no future - and it will stop, but government will have to intervene because private enterprise only has the profit motive = just watch the news now and then about bereft 'savers' having been left with a crap house after their 'builder' has gone broke. Seems to happen on a regular basis - and we are stuck with suburbs which look more like penal colonies all with their same ugly tin roofs etc.
Taurisk
