My family were all born and bred in London. They all moved out in the last few decades. London will always be their home but there is no way they could afford to go back even if they wanted too.
Those 5 million are people's homes.. 'Renationalise' them and you have to house that 5 million. The ONLYway to slove the housing crisis is to build more homes.. It doesn't matter if those xtra homes are private or council. Build enough private homes and private rents will drop to council levels. Build enough Council homes and private rents will drop...
For such a large city, the unoccupied buildings rate in London is actually extremely low. If you compare it to other cities around the world it's one of the lowest. It's also one of the most expensive cities in the world. That's not a coincidence!
If they must resume these buildings thats ok. But the absolutely must pay the owners the full market value, ans a bit extra to compensate for the inconvenience.
In London, the value of a property can differ vastly even if identical buildings are on the same street. My cousin's terrace is in Lambeth, and his pal's identical terrace is across the road in Wandsworth and worth a staggering £120,000 more in value. The same can also be for identical properties in the same London Borough, with both properties having different post codes. Such is a problem with properties in North London - especially in areas such as Kilburn and its adjacent West Hamstead. The modern new builds replacing the Aylesbury estate are crappy timber framed dwellings - nothing in comparison to the Hardy steel and concrete structure of the old estate. We are plagued with such timber frame buildings here in Pimlico. Within five years of construction, these buildings are surrounded by scaffolding. Opposite the Blue Cross is a privately built block that is looking drab and is forming cracks on its exterior where the walls between each apartment are so thin that one can hear their neighbours arguing. This building was only completed in 1997! I would give an arm and a leg to be able to live in the Aylesbury. The size of each apartment are massive in comparison to other apartments in and near central London. Inner London Boroughs severely under value their their estates. They are worth a fortune. Middle class families - especially from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and even Kuwait would have no problems purchasing such properties even in their dilapidated state. Part of the Aylesbury could be easily sold off and the proceeds could be used to refurbish the other remaining council owned properties. A Middle - Eastern property consortium would purchase the Aylesbury at the drop of a hat!
