To think holiday homes could be used to house lots of refugees

[Letshaveablackcelebration]

Uk has a LOT of holiday homes and empty second homes. Surely they could be used to take a lot of Refugees aswell as spare rooms? It could support local economies all year round too rather than just in peak tourism seasons? The crisis is going to escalate rapidly in Ukraine- there are 44 million people in the country and so far it’s about 2 million who have fled and now countries like Moldova and the Poland are starting to struggle so we need to step up.

Aibu? It seems like an obvious solution. Obviously using the empty homes of oligarchs too is a preference.

I read an article about a woman who gave her French holiday home to a refugee family.

If everyone in my area gave up tourism there’d be a lot fewer jobs around. There is so much nonsensical simplistic thinking in here it’s unbelievable. Renting out holiday accommodation is my business and my job and it provides jobs for others, directly and indirectly. Tourism is the biggest industry where I live. If people see my attitude to bankruptcy and think that says something about the UKs attitude to refugees then they’re clearly not appreciating the complexities of the situation 🤷🏻‍♀️

@caringcarer

After 6-12 months if they can work and get a job, have their children settled into school, and claim benefits including entitlement to housing benefit, I would expect they could move into a private rental same as anyone else. Why do you think this would be wrong? There are private rentals available where I live.

My son and his wife have professional jobs, excellent credit ratings, excellent references. They live in Cardiff. The rental market is huge. They fancied moving from the flat they are in to a different part of the city nearer to friends. Looking at Rightmove you would think finding a property would be a piece of cake. Most places had gone before they were even advertised. Others had a waiting list of 20 viewings and weren't taking anymore because the first viewer would take the property. Landlords can be as picky as they like. It is a vanishingly small possibility that a refugee on benefits, with children and possibly pets and in a, probably, low paying job, would be the first choice when other easier options are available. I worked with a Hungarian couple. They had a flat that was tired and very, very cold. They desperately wanted to move but the husband said that as soon as people heard his accent they didn't want to know.My son and DIL tried for months and have now given up trying to move. If your tenants cannot move until they have found alternative accommodation they may never be able to move.What will you do then ?

Loads of empty flats in Vauxhall.

[quote Letshaveablackcelebration]@Notimeforaname if I had a second home then yes I would. And I am happy to host a family too.[/quote]
Of course you wound 🙄! Everyone that doesn't have a holiday home would do it.

Mines been let for months already, I won't be cancelling my guests. It's not realty suitable for car users anyway.

However, I am looking into using my spare room to help, does that meet with your criteria?

[quote Letshaveablackcelebration]@Notimeforaname if I had a second home then yes I would. And I am happy to host a family too.[/quote]
Have you filled out the form?

FlouncerSIT

I’ve never voted Tory in my life and I never will. I have always voted Labour but I won’t from now on as they don’t stand for women. I shall maybe vote for the Green Party, at least they seem to care for animals because none of the other parties give a fuck about most people or animals.

Just because people don’t believe the answer to this crisis is OPs poorly thought out ‘solution’, doesn’t mean they are unkind. Just as posting this poorly thought out ‘solution’, which conveniently will involve OP and other posters like her not giving up their non existent second home, doesn’t make OP kind.

We have a housing crisis in this country which in no small part is caused by ‘second homes’. People who can afford it, buy a second property then rent it to other people at way over what is cost them to own it. If they were forced to only make a very modest income from it, this ‘method of making money’ (exploiting those with less than you) would cease. It is only attractive because if you have the capital to do it, it’s way easier than having to do an actual job for a living.

Rents are so much more than the mortgage and upkeep on a house, but renters don’t get a chance to save the required deposit because they’re screwed paying rent. Do not talk about the UK homelessness issue if you own a second home - you are part of the problem. I’d imagine you’d have also been horrified about being forced to home a dirty little east end child evacuee during WW2.

I haven't read the full thread, but we are wrestling with our consciences at the moment with what action to take.

Prima face we want to help a refugee family, and thinking back to eg WWII would probably have had no hesitation as it was such a different world.

Things we need to investigate and resolve include:

Insurance- covers holiday guests up to 4 weeks. In this litigious world, if a refugee injured themselves and sue us or they accidentally set fire to the house we could lose everything?

Tenure: it is a holiday home. As I understand it refugees will be able to stay for 36 months+. If we offered accommodation for eg 6 months but then needed it back, would the'r social worker/ housing officer advise them to stay put, or else they would be deemed intentionally homeless? So we would have to go to court etc?

Bills: when rented out the energy bills are approx £300 per month. Would refugees, who I believe will be entitled to full benefits, be expected to pay energy bills, council tax etc? Otherwise it would not be giving them housing for free, it would be losing a lot of money paying their bills

Income tax: is the (paltry) £350 taxed as income? If so only a fraction would be available to offset bills?

We would have to cancel bookings and suffer the consequences for future business.

Our holiday home is a business that supplements our income.
We really want to help but are struggling with how everything could work.

It is really not that simple but the government is quite clever in offloading all of the responsibility to the population.

And yet you want to police what others post?

Not policing. Just highlighting their absolute meaningless bullshit as most other people are on this thread. You can’t argue with stupid as they say. YASC. 👍

@RealBecca

I wish people would stop these threads. Six months ago it was all "poor Arthur, I'd have taken him in" - how many more people actually went on to be foster carers?

Now it's all "if people have holiday homes they have a moral obligation to give them to refugees". I'm not saying people sont mean well but these kinds of emotional posts miss all the practical points and almost always seem to volunteer private individuals up for action. Sorry but of it's not your asset it's not your right to put it up to support a cause.

Exactly. People like the Op who are so full of good suggestions for everyone else to do while at the same time refusing to do anything themselves.

I guess it makes them feel that they have “ done something “ by starting a ranty thread on MN criticising others. Rather than taking any concrete action.

Or maybe it’s just attention seeking?

If they were forced to only make a very modest income from it, this ‘method of making money’ (exploiting those with less than you) would cease. It is only attractive because if you have the capital to do it, it’s way easier than having to do an actual job for a living
I have always said that private rental should be capped at 2/3rds of local authority rental, so 1 bed flat £90 p/w LA would be capped at £60.. can't afford it? Sell ..

Not policing. Just highlighting their absolute meaningless bullshit as most other people are on this thread. You can’t argue with stupid as they say.

But if it's so meaningless why do you care?

@AngelinaFibres, I have 7 btl houses. One comes empty sometimes. I would simply ask if they would move I to a different one. Incidentally last week I rented out one, the tenants I chose have a child with additional needs and a dog. I chose them over 8 other requests including professional couples with no children, because they had excellent references and they were only moving because their LL was selling up. Try heir child will struggle with Change as it is.

But if it's so meaningless why do you care?

Because this isn’t the best way to help traumatised people. And it isn’t the best for the families with spare rooms or houses in many cases. People are making it sound simple and if you don’t help in this way, you are selfish. The issues refugees face are not best dealt with by isolating them.

My parents both potter around using one bedroom of their eight bedroom house. A house which has two living rooms, a dining room, study, two empty rooms which used to be play rooms, an office, five bathrooms, one kitchen and a separate kitchenette area in one of the rooms. Mortgage free. I've had my mum on the phone to me today moaning that my dad really wants to sign up to home some of the Ukrainian refugees. She was horrified at the thought and asking me to speak to him to squash such a silly idea. Don't think she appreciated my response. It does make me a bit sad that such a large house with so many empty rooms could provide a lovely countryside refuge to some desperate people and she'd rather it stay all hers. It's a big thing to take on, but wouldn't we want someone to take us in if it was the other way round? I know I would.

Are you meaning the government should pay the same costs that a holiday goer would pay per week/month? Where do you think the government will find this money from? The future for our children is already going to be beyond expensive due to costs from the last 2 years, your idea would be making this 100 times worse.

@Hyenaormeercat

If they were forced to only make a very modest income from it, this ‘method of making money’ (exploiting those with less than you) would cease. It is only attractive because if you have the capital to do it, it’s way easier than having to do an actual job for a living I have always said that private rental should be capped at 2/3rds of local authority rental, so 1 bed flat £90 p/w LA would be capped at £60.. can't afford it? Sell ..

In that case most landlords would sell up, creating a serious housing shortage. Only the very worse landlords with the worse housing stock would remain.

There would also be a huge shortage of labour in many parts of the market. Teaching, NHS etc in cities would collapse , as they couldn’t get staff.

The universities will struggle without the income of overseas students, who won’t want to come and live in slums in the UK. Many Uk students would also go to study overseas die to shortages of accommodation here.

Most overseas nationals who work here will return to their own counties, creating more job vacancies which can’t be filled by Uk nationals as they can’t move house.

Women and children would be forced to stay in abusive marriages as they couldn’t move out and rent anywhere else.

But yeah, apart from that it’s a great idea .

I don't quite understand why illegal young male economic migrants are housed in hotels at £150-200 per night for months on end but genuine Ukrainian refugees, traumatised women and children, are left to the good will of UK citizens already struggling with massive rises in the cost of living?

@supercallafragilicious
I made some of these point up thread and I don’t think anyone has any answers, just sweeping statements. I want to help too but it’s just not as simple as everyone seems to think.

Surely many holiday homes are located in places that are completely impractical for people who do not even speak English, have no idea where they are, have no money and haven't any transport either?

[quote Letshaveablackcelebration]@Davros was I judging anyone at all? Massive assumption there. But if there are loads of empty homes & the government is willing to pay then what is the difference between holiday makers and refugees?[/quote]
I don't think holiday home are empty homes though. I think there is some confusion re: the language here.

I think you are talking about the rare instance of people have a second home which incredibly wealthy families keep to use as an occasional retreat from their usual home, is that right? It would be great if people offered use of these but I really don't think it will make much of a dent on the needed accommodation because I think there are not many of these.

Holiday homes usually means a house people rent out in order to pay the mortgage on it/ generate all or part of their income. It won't be possible for people to cancel all holiday bookings and offer their houses for practically nothing.

You have to be pretty rich to own a holiday home. The rich are not known for their generosity.
Poorer people will offer up spare rooms and put up with a stranger and her children in their house. But rich people are not going to forego the money they normally get for renting out their second house.
So good idea OP. But it will never happen.

And the greed at the person who wants the government to renovate her second home is breathtaking.

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee there are 770,000 holiday homes that are not rented out. These would make a massive dent in accommodation needed.

Totally agree with posters above re location of many holiday homes. Where we go on holiday there’s a tiny (expensive) shop open from easter to October half term. Buses out of the hamlet are incredibly expensive. Nearest supermarket would be about 5 miles away and nearest civic offices for housing etc would be either Bodmin or Truro. More than an hour away for sure.
Beautiful place but very isolated, hardly any children nearby, schools all a distance away. Just not practical or optimal for families to work out their next steps.