Dilapidated buildings on Richmond Council's radar (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

There are around 1,363 empty second homes in Richmond upon Thames.

The council needs to concentrate it's efforts in getting these empty investment properties back into use.

Homes are scarce in London & we should not allow them to be kept empty by speculators.

Who is the 'we' Bob? These properties dont belong to you anymore than they belong to the Council.

I am fascinated to know your surname if your Christian name is Bob, you have a lot to say but we never get to know the depths of the person, lots of assertions but nothing much to back this up! By all means email me on cllr.snaylor@richmon
d.gov.uk if you think not enough is being done, presumably you are not implying that the Council should look to Compulsory Purchase 1,363 homes. Perhaps you can share too what the breakdown of the status is to which you refer, and what the source of data is, what it is dated too? Thanks

Figures from Shelter

Richmond upon Thames

Average selling price of a home in this area: £547,491.00

Average house price to income ratio
12.19

Vacant dwellings
1,363.00

Households in temporary accommodation
237.00

Affordable housing delivery
40.00

Average private rent
£1,352.98

For data sources go to
http://homesforlondo
n.org.uk/london_hous
ing

Click on Sources tab near foot of article

Camden Council is going to charge 150% council tax on second homes.

Richmond ought to do the same. We wouldn't need so much social housing and garden grabbing then.

Thank you for Shelter's data. For interest Bob do think you know also according to your data source how many 'second' homes there are in our Borough, and if these second homes are being let out to tenants, and also how many properties are being let across the Borough altogether, and how many of these provide income for these people, such as for instance their pensions, their investments in lieu of pensions, and also how much of this money they invested in these properties was taxed when originally earnt?

So back to the original issue, have you the response to the inevitable question from the owner which is why these properties are empty, for how long they have been empty, are any or all of them habitable, has the availability of cash had anything to do with delay of reinvestment of any of these properties, in other words is it lack of bank lending which is holding these up, what is the average vacancy rate across London, best, worst, median, how many of these are renovation or development projects?

Also returning to whom you are Bob, you didn't respond.

There are over 24,000 private sector rented property in Richmond Upon Thames.

I called Shelter and they confirmed the figures on second homes is robust as they are lifted from those claiming the current 10% discount on second homes. Empty property undergoing renovations get a full discount so are not included in the above figure.

What is worrying is that we have Councillors voting on a range of important decisions - without knowing basic details about the housing make up of the borough.

Housing is the foundation we build our society on. Having 24,000 households in cripplingly expensive and insecure short term leases is not going to create a strong and cohesive society.

If the council wants to champion home ownership Margaret Thatcher style they would be wanting the Post Office Sorting site to have a high percentage of affordable Housing as it would result in a far higher proportion being owner occupied. Luxury flats means absentee landlords.

The Tory group really need to put there thinking caps on - as they are clearly living in the mental world of the 1980's and don't appreciate that increasingly people rent and don't own in London.

Cambridge University have done a very good study which every Councillor should read

http://www.cchpr.lan
decon.cam.ac.uk/Down
loads/PRS%20in%20Ric
hmond%20and%20surrou
nding%20areas%20Fina
l.pdf