to ask what you think about Corbyn and Lammy's suggestion that houses of the rich should be requisitioned to give to homeless Grenfell victims?

[nutter19]

I am not sure what to think about it. On the one hand I agree that there are a lot of very big houses in the borough that are empty and could be used to house the homeless rather than left empty.

On the other hand, it seems a bit sinister to think they would just take private property off those they deem rich.

What do other people think?

It's hardly theft to oblige someone to become a landlord for a few months while long-term solutions are found.

spin it's quite a responsibility being a good LL.

I'm not sure the state can it should oblige people to do it.

Also who decides which properties are actually suitable. I have a friend who hasn't been in her flat for almost six months. But she may come home at very short notice and where will she live if her flat has been forcibly taken from her?

And what about her stuff?

GetA unless your friend is sitting on a dozen flats which have remained empty since they were bought off plan a year or so ago, nobody's going to be taking her home off of her. Indeed nobody's going to be obliging oligarchs and sheikhs to open up sections of their property portfolio anytime soon, either.

Gloria - agreed. Blaming people for not being rich is not a left/right wing issue. I have a suspicion that some people who do this don't understand quite how not-rich they are in comparison to the super-rich, nor how little the super-rich have to work to make millions out of their stashes of uninhabited property.

It's hardly theft to oblige someone to become a landlord for a few months while long-term solutions are found.

It really is. Unless they agree, which they almost certainly would not.

How is it theft if you pay for the service?

If I ever become a landlord I want to bet my tenants and I want a guarantor for the rent.

increasinlglymiddleaged So someone with the right passport buys your house? Who lives there? Do the Residence Police knock on the door late at night to ask for papers?

Considering that the councils have been unable to prevent illegal sublets by people who mostly haven't got clever lawyers - and considering how unpopular any identity card scheme is in this country - I don't see it working!

Who would pay for the storage of the persons stuff? Who would clear it out? Who pays for damage and wear and tear? What about changing the service / utility bills? IT takes ages. Who pays and organises the gas safety checks?
Which is why, sensibly, they gave used the option of purpose built short stay places. E.g. B and B.

If sorting such details out is beyond the wit of government then gawd help us in the brexit negotiations...

I don't think these flats are stuffed full of family photos and ornaments. Besides as spina says, if the government can't work out some fairly uncomplicated logistics in an emergency like this, we're fucked.

Not that it's going to happen.

Head there is no 'stuff'. Nobody is talking about occupied or used homes. It's utterly unoccupied, bought off plan investment dwellings that nobody uses.

These houses are empty. Nobody is talking about requisitioning the primary dwelling of anyone (who might be working abroad, for example). They are bought as investments and left empty.

Forcing them to be let out would be a better solution that the current complete failure to rehouse people.

If I ever become a landlord I want to bet my tenants and I want a guarantor for the rent.
So in a nutshell just assume all people who rent are socially awful, can't be trusted to pay their rent and are the bottom of society for being poor. I bet you'd also refuse to have DSA Tennants too based on the faulty t they're obviously up to no good.

I'm damn lucky my landlord isn't so snobby. My landlord asked for references and a deposit (very reasonable!). They saw DH and I have professional stable jobs so didn't patronise us and expect a guarantor. They treat me and DH as human beings and when we said we were saving for our own house after years there they reduced our rent a little to help.

They also stopped doing house checks after a year (which they didnt have to!) because they were happy that we are decent tennants who just want to live our life. In return, we've touched up odd jobs that the house needed to save them getting someone out. It's amazing what respect does.

More landlords should be like ours

GloriaGilbert What a lovely compassionate post proving that people on ALL sides of the political spectrum can care about the welfare of those less fortunate than us.

I would make no such assumptions bit I would want references showing a good record of maintaining rental properties and paying the rent on time and without fail.

Maisy in your position if you can cover the rent you are unlikely to be asked for a guarantor as one isn't needed should you choose not to pay the rent or are unable to due to loss of income insurance taken out by the landlord will cover the costs (apart from the first 4 weeks) and cover legal costs should they be needed

Landlords are not covered for housing benefit tenants unless they rent through the council and they have an agreement with the council or they have a guarantor that is willing to cover the costs should the rent not be paid. If you rent through the council it is is a long term commitment

The deposit can not be used for loss of rental costs (as most people used to) it's a seperate issue

A few months of rent not being paid adds up to high sums of money very very quickly

More landlords should be like ours

Perhaps, too, more landlords should have cause to be like yours ... after all, just as not every landlord is a decent individual, neither is every tenant a paragon of responsibility

Personally I prefer to assume folk will behave properly unless proved otherwise, but given the hatred spewed towards landlords of all stripes on sites such as this, it's hard to blame some of them for being cautious

If sorting such details out is beyond the wit of government then gawd help us in the brexit negotiations

This

Thing is, I keep reading that we're in crisis and that, in the short term at least, we all need to pull together and do whatever's needed to sort this out. Doesn't this apply to rich people?

I don't think we should ride rough shod over the rule of law just because the people affected are rich or foreign.

Retarded? Really? Completely unacceptable language.

Landlord caution is essential given how long it takes to evict someone - as it should, but given it takes up to a year in some places that is a long time while the rent goes unpaid and the property gets trashed.

What staggers me about this terrible event is the apparent lack of a disaster plan. I have one rental property. I have insurance which means that if it becomes uninhabitable I can immediately organise and pay for alternative accommodation for the tenants. Only one property, yes - but I'm not a council running tower blocks. Bigger business needs bigger solutions.

I think this disaster plan should be mandatory for all landlords, private and public.

Now, they can't keep spare houses - there are too few as it is - but there should be a system so that in such an event a team swings into action, organises immediate roof over head ( hotels, student rooms if vacation, things like that) and then has a plan for the longer term. And keeps people informed. That means not just websites but someone on the ground giving out information and directing the rehousing operation.

Gov.UK says this is now happening and gives contacts . I hope it is really working.