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Residents near Grenfell Tower will not have to pay rent, says council Grenfell Tower: illegal subletters will not be prosecuted
(about 4 hours later)
Residents forced to leave their homes near Grenfell Tower because of a lack of utilities will not have to pay rent, the local council has said. People who were unlawfully subletting flats in Grenfell Tower will not be prosecuted if they come forward with information about who was in their properties at the time of the deadly fire, the government has said.
Kensington and Chelsea council said payments would not be requested from people living in the so-called “finger blocks” until January 2018 at the earliest. The move came as campaigners warned that those affected by the fire, which is believed to have killed at least 80 people, may boycott an inquiry into the disaster amid concerns about its scope. The guidance has been issued amid fears that the threat of prosecution has prevented tenants coming forward to help identify people who were there on the night of the blaze but may not yet have been reported as missing.
Three buildings – Barandon Walk, Testerton Walk and Hurstway – have been without hot water since the neighbourhood’s boiler, located beneath Grenfell Tower, was destroyed in the fire. Many of the residents are currently living in temporary accommodation. The official number presumed to have died stands at 80 but Scotland Yard has said it could take until the end of the year or longer to arrive at a final death toll.
The council’s decision not to charge them rent follows an outcry after it was claimed that at least one Grenfell resident was still having rent for their burned-out flat deducted from their bank account. Authorities have faced criticism from local residents who say the death toll is too low, with some claiming the true number is being held back for political reasons.
“This group of residents have suffered a huge disruption to their lives as they were evacuated from their homes,” a council spokesman said. “They will not have to pay rent from the date of the fire until the end of January 2018 when we will review the situation. If any resident has had a direct debit or standing order payment for their rent taken, this will be refunded. We will be writing to everyone shortly to inform them of this. Tottenham MP David Lammy, whose friend, the artist Khadija Saye, died in the fire, has repeatedly questioned the official number of dead as “far, far too low” and said that “failure to provide updates of the true number that died is feeding suspicion of a cover-up”.
“Some residents have already returned to their homes. We expect to have the hot water supply restored during the next week, so anybody else who wants to go back home can do so. We will continue to provide temporary accommodation for those that don’t want to return.” On Sunday, the Department for Communities and Local Government said that the director of public prosecutions, in consultation with the attorney general, had issued guidance not to prosecute for illegal subletting in Grenfell Tower “given the public interest must be in being able to identify the victims of the fire”.
Attorney general Jeremy Wright QC said: “Every piece of information will help the authorities accurately identify who was in the flats at the time of the fire. I hope this statement provides some much-needed clarity to residents and the local community, and encourages anyone with information to come forward.”
Communities secretary Sajid Javid said the decision reflected the “absolute priority” of the government to assist those affected by the fire.
Meanwhile, the number of tower blocks that have failed tests on the flammability of their cladding has risen to 181 in 51 local authorities, the government said on Sunday. The number of at-risk buildings has risen regularly since the government ordered a full review of high-rises around the country. All of those tested so far have failed.
Relations between Grenfell residents and the authorities have been strained by suspicions about the death toll and anger about the pace at which people received official assistance and its quality when it did arrive.
After it was claimed on Saturday that at least one one resident was still having rent for their burned-out flat deducted from their bank account, Kensington and Chelsea council attempted to mollify concerns by announcing that people forced to leave their homes near the tower would not have to pay rent.
Many residents from Barandon Walk, Testerton Walk and Hurstway have been living in temporary accommodation since the neighbourhood’s boiler, located beneath Grenfell Tower, was destroyed in the fire.
A council spokesman said: “They will not have to pay rent from the date of the fire until the end of January 2018 when we will review the situation. If any resident has had a direct debit or standing order payment for their rent taken, this will be refunded.”
The news was greeted with caution by those living in the area, who have been staying in emergency accommodation.The news was greeted with caution by those living in the area, who have been staying in emergency accommodation.
Joe Delaney, 37, told the Press Association it was welcome news, but added: “Can they confirm that any money that they consider as being paid to residents will not be deducted from any compensation that residents may eventually receive?” Joe Delaney, 37, told the Press Association it was welcome news, but said: “Can they confirm that any money that they consider as being paid to residents will not be deducted from any compensation that residents may eventually receive?”
The Radical Housing Network, of which campaigners with Grenfell Action Group are a part, had earlier called for rent to be halted and refunded, saying: “The trauma of the entire Lancaster West community is unimaginable. None of the residents should pay rent when questions over the safety of their homes remain.” Campaigners said on Sunday that people affected by the fire may boycott the public inquiry into the disaster it if it is too narrow in scope.
The public inquiry has been charged with looking at how the fire started and how it developed so quickly but Yvette Williams, one of the organisers of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign group, said the “systemic issues” also need to be addressed. The inquiry has been charged with looking at how the fire started and how it developed so quickly. But Yvette Williams, one of the organisers of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign group, said the “systemic issues” also need to be addressed.
“They cannot just look at 14 June, when that building became an inferno. They can’t do that,” she told Sky News. “If we don’t get good terms of reference for the public inquiry and we don’t get a wide remit so that those people can take responsibility for what they’ve done, then we won’t participate in it.”“They cannot just look at 14 June, when that building became an inferno. They can’t do that,” she told Sky News. “If we don’t get good terms of reference for the public inquiry and we don’t get a wide remit so that those people can take responsibility for what they’ve done, then we won’t participate in it.”
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has written to Theresa May urging her to widen the scope of the public inquiry. He has asked for a two-part inquiry, the first looking at specific issues regarding the fire at the 24-storey building in Kensington, west London, and reporting back soon, with a second part “looking at the national issues”. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has written to Theresa May urging her to widen the scope of the public inquiry. He has asked for a two-part inquiry, the first looking at specific issues regarding the fire at the 24-storey building and reporting back soon, with a second part “looking at the national issues”.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, who will lead the investigation, has said he is “doubtful” the investigation will be far-reaching enough to satisfy those who survived the blaze. An inquiry spokesman said the aim is to have the terms of reference completed before parliament rises on 20 July.
Meanwhile, a husband and wife who escaped the Grenfell Tower inferno have revealed they lost their unborn child shortly after fleeing the building. Marcio and Andreia Gomes and their two young daughters managed to escape from the 21st floor, but Marcio Gomes said his wife, who had been seven months’ pregnant, gave birth to a stillborn child as she lay unconscious hours after they escaped the building. Meanwhile, a husband and wife who escaped the Grenfell Tower fire have revealed they lost their unborn child shortly after fleeing the building. Marcio and Andreia Gomes and their two young daughters managed to escape from the 21st floor, but Marcio Gomes said his wife, who had been seven months pregnant, gave birth to a stillborn child as she lay unconscious hours after they escaped the building.
He told the Sunday Telegraph: “The doctors came and said the baby’s heart had stopped and the priority is the mother. My wife gave birth that night while she was in an induced coma so she didn’t know at the time. At 11.03 in the evening my baby boy was born.He told the Sunday Telegraph: “The doctors came and said the baby’s heart had stopped and the priority is the mother. My wife gave birth that night while she was in an induced coma so she didn’t know at the time. At 11.03 in the evening my baby boy was born.
“I was holding him, he looked peaceful, like a baby that was just sleeping. I wanted to be there with him but he had already died.”“I was holding him, he looked peaceful, like a baby that was just sleeping. I wanted to be there with him but he had already died.”
The couple had decided on a name for the baby – Logan Isaac – and are planning to hold a funeral after the postmortem examination has taken place.The couple had decided on a name for the baby – Logan Isaac – and are planning to hold a funeral after the postmortem examination has taken place.
Marcio Gomes, 38, said it was a traumatic time for the family as they realised things could have been much worse “but at the same time we lost a member of the family who didn’t even get to experience fresh air”.Marcio Gomes, 38, said it was a traumatic time for the family as they realised things could have been much worse “but at the same time we lost a member of the family who didn’t even get to experience fresh air”.