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?

[TabascoToastie]

Using a tragedy like this to try and get through the idea of confiscating peoples homes. If you can do it in London then why not in every town and city where there are homeless people. Before you know it we are half way to Communism.

For God's sake put down the Daily Mail and pick up a book for once in your life.

Requisitioning empty property (NOT people's homes!) happens all the time and has done for a long time. It happened a lot during the war, and it happened regularly under Margaret Thatcher. Corbyn is not suggesting anything new or anything not supported by current legislation.

Do you think Thatcher was a commie? Or Churchill? Because if you don't you're a hypocrite.

[BabychamSocialist]

I love all the people saying Corbyn should give out his non-existent spare room. Have you SEEN his house? I'm not sure how there's space for his family as it is!

[SilentlyScreamingAgain]

I'm not sure who'd want to rent a room in a house with the press camped outside. That's a lot of pressure every morning.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

Oh I do mean trouble on the streets.

Of course a criminal investigation and criminal consequences are only to be welcomed by anyone.

[CaptainMarvelDanvers]

I'm surprised the owners aren't offering their properties to be used, actually scratch I'm not surprised at all. They will be on a yacht somewhere forgetting they even own a house in Kensington.

I don't think essentials like property should be horded especially at the rate it has done in London, its greed and it creates an unfair monopoly. Some of these owners have never stayed at the house, some when they come to the UK on trips stay in a hotel while their houses lay empty. It's madness.

[Hermagsjesty]

I'm not being funny but in the wake of all this are there really people who think whether the Leader of the Opposition has a lodger or not is the important issue?! Of course he can't house all the homeless and not should he - that is what SOCIETY is for.

Whatever you think of JC, you only need to look at his voting record to see he is not jumping on this tragedy - these are the kinds of issues he has spent his life campaigning over. He is probably very angry - as many of us are.

I also think it's worth noting he said IF NECCESSARY. I think he was speaking in anticipation of not enough being done to find the survivors accommodation suitably close to thier Doctors, schools and the support networks they'll desperately need.

[Southwaite]

How do you know they haven't, Captain?

[Bluntness100]

I think he was speaking in anticipation of not enough being done to find the survivors accommodation suitably close to thier Doctors, schools and the support networks they'll desperately need

So what's he doing to ensure enough is done?

[MotherOfBleach]

There's an estate agent in the NE who has reportedly offered some of their charity stock if any of the disposed are willing to relocate.

They usually use it for homeless veterans. They'll be a given a free bond and help with applying for housing benefit and a fully furnished house. The agent will wait for HB to come through for rent.

We need more 'rich' like the owners of that estate agency. It's a shame none of their properties are are in London.

[nancy75]

Many of the missing seem to have had fairly decent jobs that anywhere else in the country would have enabled them to rent privately easily.

I know this was a council block but was everyone a council tenant? Lots of council flats in London are actually ex council flats so I would imagine at least some of the people did rent privately

[CaptainMarvelDanvers]

Because I think you would hear about if they had, from what I know there has been one woman who is in charge of 20 flats who has said people can stay in them.

I don't hate rich people, but I think people pretend the gap between rich and poor doesn't exist but it does, and in the past few years it keeps getting wider and wider.

Houses shouldn't be hoarded, you want to invest in something which doesn't get used, invest in a painting. Stop creating an unfair monopoly.

[NanFlanders]

One of the statements referred to 'tenants and leaseholders', so I assume it was a mixed public/private block.

[BabsGanoush]

Can you imagine if it was a Tory MP who had suggested this?? Ha there'd be uproar -the Left would have a field day

[Dawndonnaagain]

Good grief, reading the stupid knee jerk reactions on here is just like reading the comments on The Mail online.

[Bluntness100]

Grenfel tower was a mix of private and social housing.flats were selling for upto a quarter of a million five years ago. I personally think it's irrelevant though.

[nancy75]

Sadly it's easy to say lets put all these people in the empty houses but it's not that easy to do.
What happens if someone moves in and gets electrocuted by a faulty appliance - who is responsible?
What about stuff like gas safety certs?
What if a family move in on a temp basis & when a council property comes up they just refuse to move out?
The problem with empty houses is huge in London but it can't be solved with knee jerk reactions to a terrible situation

[NanFlanders]

Bluntness - I'm not Corbyn's biggest fan, but he has a very long record of campaigning on housing and homelessness issues, going right back to under Mrs Thatcher. In fact, Labour proposed an amendment to the Government’s new Housing and Planning Bill to make more housing affordable in January last year, but it was rejected by 312 votes to 219.

[ExplodedCloud]

Somebody posted a link to a private rental flat in the tower from April or May time. £1700 pcm I think it was. So yes, it looks like some were in private hands.

[MotherOfBleach]

^Sadly it's easy to say lets put all these people in the empty houses but it's not that easy to do.
What happens if someone moves in and gets electrocuted by a faulty appliance - who is responsible?^

It is that easy to do. There are already laws in place allowing it to be done.

If the council either bought or acquired the right to lease a property, they/the LL would be responsible for ensuring it is safe, the same as non compulsory buying/letting.

Are people having a hard time reading today?

[Southwaite]

So what's the answer if they refuse to move out? A long, lengthy, expensive court process?

[Hermagsjesty]

Bluntness - I don't know if you noticed, but he's not in government yet. His job will be to hold the govt to account and ensure the housing minister sticks to thier commitment to rehouse families in the area. He has a long record of campaigning on housing issues as a London MP so if you want to point score and play "yeah but what-about-ery" I really don't think this is the issue to do it on.

[MotherOfBleach]

So what's the answer if they refuse to move out? A long, lengthy, expensive court process?

The same as with any rental property and rightly so.

Corbyn isn't talking borrowing Sheikh McRichPants mansion until suitable housing is found. He is talking about using existing laws to force the sale or rent of empty properties.

Given that they'll bought by the council, these are likely to be normal homes not huge mansions with eleventy million swimming pools and a tennis court.

Councils all across the country use the same power day in, day out. It's nothing new.

[BabychamSocialist]

I just can't believe people are really wringing their hands over housing people who have NOTHING through no fault of their own. It just shows how selfish so many people are. Imagine if it was you - you had nowhere to go, and you didn't want to move out of the area you've known all your life. Wouldn't you be disgusted that there are more than enough homes to house all those affected, all of them sitting empty?

[NataliaOsipova]

It's disgraceful that people have been made homeless by a fire and people are carping on about how unfair it is to borrow an empty mansion for a few weeks.

It's not a question of it being "unfair". Unless you plan to issue a compulsory purchase order, which means buying it at market value plus, then you cannot requisition property without fundamentally tearing up the law which protects property rights in this country. And that has huge ramifications for all of us, not least because, as a pp said, you will see the investment in the UK dry up. I don't think foreign investors owning huge swathes of UK property is a good thing at all, but it'll be an Armageddon scenario for the UK housing market if they all pull out in a panic. Plus, no further investment means a shrinking economy and less money for public services.....

[Aeroflotgirl]

I think the 'rich people' have a moral duty to open their empty properties to those affected by the fire, but they don't have to, and should not be forced to.