Tycoons’ homes lie empty in the shadow of Grenfell

1,800 vacant properties near site of horror blaze

HOMELESS survivors of the Grenfell Tower inferno spoke of their anger last night after it was revealed that billionaires are leaving properties empty in the borough.

While tycoons, foreign royalty and oligarchs allow buildings to lie unused, most of the former Grenfell residents remain in emergency accommodation seven weeks on from the devastating blaze.

Some 1,857 homes are sitting unoccupied in Kensington and Chelsea, where the fire took place. A fraction of these could house the 255 survivors of the inferno, which claimed about 80 lives.

Owners of the empty homes include former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Ukrainian billionaire fighting extradition to the US, a former BBC executive, and a luxury property magnate.

Almost 700 properties are officially recorded as being empty for over two years, while around 50 have been unoccupied for between 11 and 15 years.

Ultra-rich foreigners often buy London homes as an investment because Britain’s property market is seen as a safe haven for their money, and then leave them empty as they increase in value. Last night angry Grenfell survivors said they felt ignored by the government.

Pregnant Maryam Adam, 41, who lived next door to the flat where the fire started, said: ‘We still haven’t been rehoused and are still in a hotel. So it makes me very angry to hear that there are lots of empty properties in the borough.’

Fellow survivor Amina Mohamed, 46, said: ‘They need to make this a priority. We need to rebuild our lives because at the moment we are in limbo.

‘We do not seem to be treated as well as others in the borough because we are not rich. It is not right that there are all these empty homes.’

The names of the high-profile owners of the empty properties were revealed when the council apparently accidentally sent out a list to a number of recipients.

Early reports suggested that 1,652 properties were unoccupied. But last night the council admitted that the true number was in fact 1,857.

Kensington and Chelsea has made 175 offers of accommodation to Grenfell survivors and 48 were accepted. Only 13 households have so far been rehoused.

Council deputy leader Kim Taylor-Smith said: ‘If a property has been left unoccupied and unfurnished for two years or more, property owners will be charged an additional 50 per cent of the full council tax charge.

‘Unfortunately, we have no powers to compel owners to live in their properties but we can and do offer support.’

‘It makes me very angry’