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| Revelations about empty homes in Grenfell area 'simply unacceptable' | Revelations about empty homes in Grenfell area 'simply unacceptable' |
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| Labour has condemned as “simply unacceptable” revelations that 1,652 properties are unoccupied in the London borough where the Grenfell Tower fire took place, calling for government action to bring them back into use. | Labour has condemned as “simply unacceptable” revelations that 1,652 properties are unoccupied in the London borough where the Grenfell Tower fire took place, calling for government action to bring them back into use. |
| The Liberal Democrats are also demanding increased surcharges on long-term empty homes, following a report in the Guardian about the owners of vacant properties in Kensington and Chelsea, among them oligarchs, foreign royalty and wealthy businesspeople. | |
| Names emerged in a list detailing the council tax information of the vacant homes and their 1,197 owners. This appeared to have been sent accidentally by the council to multiple recipients, including the Guardian. | Names emerged in a list detailing the council tax information of the vacant homes and their 1,197 owners. This appeared to have been sent accidentally by the council to multiple recipients, including the Guardian. |
| Among the empty properties is the former Brompton Road tube station building, vacant since it was bought for £53m by the Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash in 2014. He is fighting extradition to the US. | Among the empty properties is the former Brompton Road tube station building, vacant since it was bought for £53m by the Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash in 2014. He is fighting extradition to the US. |
| The media billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg bought a seven-bedroom grade II*-listed mansion for £16m in 2015, which remains empty. | The media billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg bought a seven-bedroom grade II*-listed mansion for £16m in 2015, which remains empty. |
| Other unoccupied properties are owned by offshore companies, including Dukes Lodge London Ltd, part of Christian Candy’s luxury property business; and Smech Properties Ltd, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. | Other unoccupied properties are owned by offshore companies, including Dukes Lodge London Ltd, part of Christian Candy’s luxury property business; and Smech Properties Ltd, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. |
| John Healey, Labour’s shadow housing minister, has previously criticised the government for what he has called the slow pace in rehousing the 158 households identified as being left homeless following the Grenfell Tower fire, in which at least 80 people died. | |
| Responding to the list of empty properties, he said: “When the country is already in the grip of a housing crisis, the fact that properties are left empty is simply unacceptable. | Responding to the list of empty properties, he said: “When the country is already in the grip of a housing crisis, the fact that properties are left empty is simply unacceptable. |
| “The government has long been aware of this problem, and with survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire still to be rehoused seven weeks after the tragedy it is more necessary than ever for ministers to take action.” | “The government has long been aware of this problem, and with survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire still to be rehoused seven weeks after the tragedy it is more necessary than ever for ministers to take action.” |
| Around the country as a whole, Healey said, there were about 200,000 long-term vacant homes, “including those bought and left empty by speculative investors”. | Around the country as a whole, Healey said, there were about 200,000 long-term vacant homes, “including those bought and left empty by speculative investors”. |
| He said: “Labour would allow councils to charge a 300% empty homes premium on properties that have been empty for more than a year and ask them to prepare empty-homes strategies to bring homes back into use in each area. | He said: “Labour would allow councils to charge a 300% empty homes premium on properties that have been empty for more than a year and ask them to prepare empty-homes strategies to bring homes back into use in each area. |
| “We would also reverse the Conservatives’ weakening of councils’ powers to introduce empty dwelling management orders to bring homes back into use.” | “We would also reverse the Conservatives’ weakening of councils’ powers to introduce empty dwelling management orders to bring homes back into use.” |
| Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrats’ local government spokeswoman, said the Grenfell fire “brought into sharp public focus how yards from people living in overcrowded poverty were scores of opulent, empty town houses often kept vacant by off-shore investors who don’t even need rental income”. | |
| She added: “We could be hiking up council tax far more – at the moment some such people are paying a 50% premium but if they’re so wealthy they don’t care. | |
| “We could put council tax up on such property to 200% or more to ramp up the pressure on such owners to put their portfolios on the market. The proceeds of increased council tax could then be invested in more affordable housing and safety measures.” | |
| Kensington and Chelsea, which is struggling to identify a sufficient number of local homes to replace those destroyed in the blaze, charges an extra 50% of full council tax – the maximum permitted – on homes left empty for two years or more. | Kensington and Chelsea, which is struggling to identify a sufficient number of local homes to replace those destroyed in the blaze, charges an extra 50% of full council tax – the maximum permitted – on homes left empty for two years or more. |
| However, with the top band of local council tax set at just over £2,100 a year, this is not likely to be a major disincentive for wealthy owners. | However, with the top band of local council tax set at just over £2,100 a year, this is not likely to be a major disincentive for wealthy owners. |
| Of the 1,652 empty homes identified on the list, more than one in three are recorded as having been unoccupied for more than two years. | Of the 1,652 empty homes identified on the list, more than one in three are recorded as having been unoccupied for more than two years. |
| Kim Taylor-Smith, the deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, said: “Unfortunately, we have no powers to compel owners to live in their properties, but we can and do offer support and advice to help bring long-term empty properties back into use.” | Kim Taylor-Smith, the deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, said: “Unfortunately, we have no powers to compel owners to live in their properties, but we can and do offer support and advice to help bring long-term empty properties back into use.” |
| In the wake of the Grenfell fire, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suggested using emergency legislation to requisition empty properties needed to house those affected by the blaze. | In the wake of the Grenfell fire, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suggested using emergency legislation to requisition empty properties needed to house those affected by the blaze. |
| Helen Williams of the Empty Homes Network, which campaigns for properties to be returned to use, called for tougher sanctions to be introduced for owners of homes who persist in leaving them unoccupied. | Helen Williams of the Empty Homes Network, which campaigns for properties to be returned to use, called for tougher sanctions to be introduced for owners of homes who persist in leaving them unoccupied. |
| “In the face of huge housing needs, it is time for government to explore what additional measures it could put in place to stop people from buying or holding on to a home when they have no intention of staying there, selling, or renting it out,” she said. | “In the face of huge housing needs, it is time for government to explore what additional measures it could put in place to stop people from buying or holding on to a home when they have no intention of staying there, selling, or renting it out,” she said. |
| “A 50% council tax premium that only kicks in when a property is empty for two years is clearly not enough of a deterrent to those that can afford to buy at the luxury end of the housing market, so is it time to take a considered look at whether the rate charged should be upped, or other measures should be brought in, perhaps through regulation or the planning system.” | “A 50% council tax premium that only kicks in when a property is empty for two years is clearly not enough of a deterrent to those that can afford to buy at the luxury end of the housing market, so is it time to take a considered look at whether the rate charged should be upped, or other measures should be brought in, perhaps through regulation or the planning system.” |