Property News · August 3, 2017

We could end the buy-to-leave scandal – if the political will were there | Polly Toynbee


Property bought as an investment and deliberately left empty is exacerbating the UK’s housing crisis. But government is not powerless• Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnistEmpty property bought by investors to sit unused is a scandal the Guardian has exposed this week, finding 1,652 in the Grenfell borough of Kensington and Chelsea alone.Not long ago I interviewed a long-time upmarket estate agent in Knightsbridge, opposite Harrods, who told me she begged foreign buyers to agree to rent out their vacant properties, to no avail. They always refuse. She describes the change she has seen in those streets over recent years, as they turn dark at night, no lights on, with so many mothballed houses sitting there as gold bullion in the bank, not homes for anyone. The area is dying, she says, warning that all the reasons that made it desirable will be lost. John Healey, Labour shadow housing minister, says there are some 200,000 long-term vacant properties, including “those bought and left empty by speculative investors,” in the wealthiest areas. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…We could end the buy-to-leave scandal – if the political will were there | Polly Toynbee

You may also like...