Staggering Statistic for London

RiceRocket

And that article is 4 years old! Almost certain the London benefits bill has pulled away from the defence bill due to rate of rental inflation & the government/local authorities failing to be proper landlords themselves.

Ste7en

[cough] National service for the unemployed [/cough]

Two birds one stone.

Pacifico

Its a fair point - if the hundreds of thousands of people with jobs in London commute because they cant afford to live in London, why are we so determined that those without a job and on welfare should be able to afford to live in London.

Perhaps time for a major rethink.

krish

Would that rethink include doing something about the rotting derelict buy-to-leave properties of the Russian oligarchy and Arab royalty?

EarthRod

This might be of interest:

'Almost no evidence' of London homes owned by foreign buyers being left empty

The headline is a bit simple - the article expands and explains.

Pacifico

An amount of properties so small as to be not worth worrying about as it would have absolutely no impact on the housing issues in London.

Virtue signalling at its finest.

IronGiant

They bought Buckingham Palace? when did that happen?

krish

@Alan CD - that article is on new builds
Nonsense.

20,000 empty properties, collectively worth £9.4 billion, in London alone
- from the DCLG's (Dept for Communities & Local Government) figures published in April:
Dwelling stock estimates in England: 2016 - GOV.UK

There are almost 20,000 'ghost' homes sitting empty in LondonThis map shows London’s 20,000 empty homes                                                                                 Map reveals shocking number of empty homes across London

NorvernRob

Except unemployment benefits are only a very small part of the overall benefits bill. Pensions and in-work benefits form the vast majority.

IronGiant

True enough, but I don't think Ste7en was being entirely serious.