Copy of Lib Dem coalition agreement with Tories

[Brendan]

And my motivation isn?t necessarily out of hatred for landlords. They aren?t worth my hate for the most part. It?s is out of concern for their victims. My apologies but unlike most people in this world I give a dam about exploitation and injustice.

And believe me there are victims by the hundreds of thousand around this land and just because people are unaware/out of touch or want to wash over reality in order to appease their own consciences doesn?t change the truth.

[HAL9000]

The solution is quite simple: in May 1978 Libya passed a law granting each citizen the right to own one house. More than that, property ownership was prohibited. Every tenant became the owner of the house they were renting: social equality at a stroke!

[DJKillaQueen]

Oooooh now that would be radicle HAL.....the banks would hate it though lol.....what else do they have to lend against?

[Jeremy]

Interesting stuff Hal, is that law still in effect? What do people do who - you know - want to rent a flat?

[Huguenot]

Apparently Article 2 of Law No. 3 in 2004 allowed more than one property to be owned in certain circumstances - including property investment.

However, I'm not sure how that works with rent, as according to the socialist revolution the exploitation of a tenant by a property owner for rent is viewed as exploitation of the 'need' of another and hence counter-revolutionary.

The bulding of new homes was essentially off the back of substantial government petroleum reserves, with a small taxation on government workers.

I can't identify the criteria for housing allocation - it's clear that housing has stratified into apartments, arab houses and villas. There seems to be a degree of housing reflecting government status.

Nor are people obliged to take government housing, they can still buy privately if they wish.

Either way, it's not inordinately effective, since Libya numbers on average 6.5 people for each existing housing unit...

[HAL9000]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> Is that law still in effect?

Essentially, yes. But since sanctions were lifted recently, new initiatives for foreign investors have been drafted allowing limited property ownership that excludes the underlying land - I'm not sure about the details. Perhaps Huguenot can provide a link to his source?

The reason I know about this is because I was in Tripoli when that law was suddenly announced. In particular, I recall the chaos on the roads that day as owners rushed to move their children and relatives into vacant properties before the deadline at midnight using pickup trucks, camels, donkeys, mules and handcarts.

I was amazed at how easily such a radical law was accepted by the population at large.

[Loz]

He he. That would result in the biggest punch-ups ever in the 18 to 25 bracket as everyone in a shared rental house fights over who gets the title deeds...

[Huguenot]

Section 4.3 Page 111 onwards...

So a rental market does exist - probably around 3.5%