Hi Amber
I'm not using exact numbers here (I can't remember them & round numbers are easier)
If a builder puts up 20 houses, he has to "sell" 4 more or less at cost to social housing, for them to rent out. So his profit is on 16 houses with the cost of 20 built. It's no surprise to see builders putting up 14 or 16 houses to stay under the limit & out of supplying social housing. It's about making the level of profit the builder wants. The builder is restricted by the housing market prices on his/ her profitability
CH are not plentiful & demand is growing. The self funders are forced into higher prices by the lack of supply. The CH get to protect their profits, even if they are forced into allocating a certain number of LA beds
The LA limit is based on what it "should" cost to provide a bed, no extras, no luxury, basic food, basic facilities, minimum staff levels. It's a bit like JSA, where you can only afford the basic range, then get a job & depending on your salary, it's the finest range, at least some of the time.
We want the best for our PWD. We don't want a shared room, with a basic bed & minimum staff. We want pictures on the walls, flowers in reception, clean uniforms, etc.
I don't believe it's about public policy of taking the PWD money as fast as possible, I think it's about CH profit margins. The CH owner wants a certain profit margin, so the self funders bring in the profits not available from the LA beds
Don't get me wrong, I don't think profit is a dirty word, if someone takes their available cash & builds or converts a CH, then they are taking a risk on getting it back, they are not doing it for charity, they are doing it to fund their lifestyle. You don't see many successful business people driving 10 year old cars, or going to Southport for their holidays (no slur on Southport intended!!).
It's not like we can boycott CH's, so we are stuck with the prices, until someone steps up & says "enough" IMHO
Sooner or later, a time will come, when a generation can't afford to buy houses, so there will be no assets to sell, so no top ups available, you can't get blood out of a stone, so prices will be forced to drop or something