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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

660 replies

Letshaveablackcelebration · 13/03/2022 13:54

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.

OP posts:
Yebs · 13/03/2022 20:04

Anyway I'm not spending my night arguing that we should be compassionate and atleast think about how we can help people. With a small house, young children, a baby on the way, struggling with our increasing bills without factoring in more people etc we aren't in a position to help but we had the conversation. All I'm saying is people should do the same. Anyone who says they wanted to help but couldn't you will belittle into saying they are just using excuses so it's wasted time. Ciao

Kanaloa · 13/03/2022 20:05

Because it’s stupid to say ‘I would help of course, but…’

I mean I could say that easily. I would help but I have four kids and a small home and - but it’s irrelevant. My ‘could have’ is no good to anybody and I don’t even know if it’s true. It’s easy to say what you would do when you don’t have to, and it doesn’t give you the right to tell others what they should do.

Creameggs223 · 13/03/2022 20:06

@girlmom21

You can't just force people to give up their properties.

Who's going to pay the mortgages, the water rates or to fix any damage?

Who is staying their would pay their own bills they will have an address so can claim benefits including housing benefit.
Kanaloa · 13/03/2022 20:06

And you say you ‘had the conversation’ but obviously your parents did too for you to know your mother doesn’t want to. You had a conversation and said you couldn’t, so did your parents. You just think yours is more justifiable.

UglyModernWindows · 13/03/2022 20:07

OP and some others are banging on how rest of the Europe is willing to house all the refugees. I'm from an European country and as far as I know, there is no inclination whatsoever to house refugees in people's home.

Some vegetable/berry farmers are offering accommodation for some families but these people are known to them as they have been employed as a seasonal staff over the years. But that's it, individual families would not be up for it.

Badbadbunny · 13/03/2022 20:07

It's just virtue signalling to say "I'd do it if I could, but due to x, y and z, I can't".

Yebs · 13/03/2022 20:07

I'm not telling others what they should do - I'm saying people should spare a thought. I've repeatedly said of course there will be plenty of valid reasons why people can't.

Sometimeswinning · 13/03/2022 20:09

@Letshaveablackcelebration why would you offer up holiday homes then? You have read one story. This is a shocking idea on the whole, expecting people to do this and have a single clue what they are letting themselves in for.

You're not even willing or able to help with the exact situation you are talking about!!

MySoCalledL1fe · 13/03/2022 20:10

@anotherday85 That's fantastic that you did that, I hope I can do the same one day when DC have left and I have space. You said it didn't cost you much, if I lost the income from my holiday rental business then it would cost me everything. Can I come and stay with you when my home is re-possesed?

The rental income has mortgage payments, bills, yes - wear and tear which means funding maintenance and replacements, business rates, laundry, cleaning. Do I not have a right to be concerned about how I would cope and to wonder why people are seeing that as a sad indictment of the English?

Yebs · 13/03/2022 20:10

@Kanaloa

And you say you ‘had the conversation’ but obviously your parents did too for you to know your mother doesn’t want to. You had a conversation and said you couldn’t, so did your parents. You just think yours is more justifiable.
My dad said to me that he mentioned it and my mum instantly shut it down in seconds saying "I could never leave those people alone in my house, we'd be ransacked"

He was really disappointed her first thought was so disrespectful. As was I.

I don't know why I'm being made out to be unreasonable for that. If you want to excuse racism that's on you Smile

PourSomeLove · 13/03/2022 20:11

Yebs

Did your dad not want to house a refugee from Afghanistan? They needed help very recently. Surely he would have wanted to and then he would have already been aware of your mums views and so would you? 🤔

Hayisforhorse · 13/03/2022 20:11

We are looking at doing this. Two issues we have to overcome first:

  1. House isn't in UK and local rules give renters right to remain in your house if they wish to stay (you can't eject them in winter), so until the legal position is clear, we can't risk it because we might never get the house back but have to keep paying for it (it's a well known problem in the country, people spend years trying to get someone to leave).
  1. Whilst house is empty now, it will be full in a few weeks, and then on and off until September. We need the income from the seasonal let to pay for the renovation we've just done. If the legal situ gets sorted, and houses are still needed in September then we will hopefully be able to welcome some refugees then.

A number of friends are doing similar, as well as organising fund raising etc. And all the people I know who are trying to help are those who have also been helping the Syrians in Calais, the Afghan refugees in Eastern Europe etc, for years.

DH is the grandson of a Ukrainian refugee who escaped war there years ago. The entire family was wiped out except for the grandmother, great grandmother and an uncle.

Dreamstate · 13/03/2022 20:12

[quote Letshaveablackcelebration]@SparklyLeprechaun but this is my point- these are empty homes! If the government was willing to pay then what is the problem? It’s an enormous crisis that’s set to get a lot worse[/quote]
I'd rather the government paid to house our homeless people first!

ValkyrieVik · 13/03/2022 20:13

You seen the size of new build bedrooms before? I think 5 people in a double bed might get child services phoned on me 😂*

It's so easy for people who don't have the means, to sign away the free-will of others though isn't it?

Reminds me of this Churchill quote..

To think holiday homes could be used to house lots of refugees
AlwaysLatte · 13/03/2022 20:13

Too complicated with our holiday home (shared family space) but we're already in the process of trying to accommodate a family in our home.

ValkyrieVik · 13/03/2022 20:15

we aren't in a position to help but we had the conversation

Ah well, as long as you had the conversation...
😂

Kanaloa · 13/03/2022 20:17

That’s right. I’m a racist because I don’t think performing hypothetical charity and generosity gives you the right to stand judge over whether other people’s reasons for not doing things are ‘valid.’

MySoCalledL1fe · 13/03/2022 20:18

@Creameggs223
"Who is staying their would pay their own bills they will have an address so can claim benefits including housing benefit"
That's great, will the housing benefit cover the peak August rental I projected in my business plan that the bank wanted to see when I borrowed the money to renovate the building? Will there be compensation for the cleaners and laundry I don't use any more, or for the pub down the road who lose income from all the guests I send there Or the woman who makes the local produce in my welcome hampers? Or have you not really thought it through that much?

alltheapples · 13/03/2022 20:20

[quote MySoCalledL1fe]@alltheapples You don’t have to be pretty rich to own a holiday home, I own a holiday home and that is part of how I make a living and save for a pension, presumably you don’t think everyone with a job is rich? You have to be pretty rich to own a 2nd home which you don’t rent out and just keep for when you feel like popping in.[/quote]
Of course you are rich if you own two homes.

Yebs · 13/03/2022 20:22

@ValkyrieVik

You seen the size of new build bedrooms before? I think 5 people in a double bed might get child services phoned on me 😂*

It's so easy for people who don't have the means, to sign away the free-will of others though isn't it?

Reminds me of this Churchill quote..

I'm not sure if a quote from a documented racist who committed genocide and let millions of people starve to death is meant to inspire me?
girlmom21 · 13/03/2022 20:22

@Creameggs223 you can't treat them like normal tenants if they're being placed in accommodation. They're not going to be immediately entitled to benefits and housing benefits only pay so much. They're not going to cover the losses the owners of holiday rentals would experience

RoseAndRose · 13/03/2022 20:22

@Geezabreak82

I’ve not read the whole thread but just wanted to say that this basically happened in the Balkans during the 1990s. People displaced by the war in Yugoslavia would live in hotels and holiday accommodation during the winter and then during the summer they’d be moved out of town into tent villages so that tourists from across Europe could use the holiday accommodation. It’s no way to live. All this talk about a six month commitment is nonsense too. People won’t be going home in six months - I expect most people will be displaced for years, if not forever. Where do people think everyone is going to go after six months? What they need is a safe place to live where they can recover from the trauma they’ve been through and then start to plan the rest of their lives. Being moved on after six months is unlikely to be in their best interests.
Exactly.

2.5 million people

Europeans displaced by war in Europe.

caringcarer · 13/03/2022 20:24

@mumwon, I am not inexperienced as a LL. I have been a LL for 17 years. All necessary expenses such as electrical certificate and energy performance certificate I already have only gas certificate and insurance is annual. Those expenses can be written off against my tax bill as less earnings means I would pay less tax. I do t see topuch difference between loosing 40 per cent of income to tax man or only getting £350 per month so possibly 60 percent less than I could get. The refugees are fleeing war and having to queue for up to 60 in as low as minus 10 temperature and snow with just a coat on. At end of 6-8 months I would help them find another private rental, give them reference, and help them furnish it. I have several friends who are LL too. My tenants are from Maldova, speak Russian and very keen to help. They think Putin will not stop at Ukraine and will go into Maldova next. I know £350 is meant for single room but there will be families, Mums with 2 or 3 children and perhaps a grandparent who won't want to be split up. I can afford to help such a family for 6-8 months. House is in a large town with good job prospects, and I know it does not make commercial sense but I want to help and do something meaningful.

MySoCalledL1fe · 13/03/2022 20:27

I have a mortgage on 2 homes which is partly paid by my holiday rental business, alongside another business which is also dependent on tourism. I have very slightly above average earnings, if I'm rich then so are nurses. I don't have a pension so that will be provided by the sale of my business. I'm sorry if that doesn't fit your narrative.

LidlMiddleLover · 13/03/2022 20:29

Who pays for heat electricity damage et ? If the government pay its just the smae txpayers who Re already sruggling