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Islington Council bans buy-to-leave investors (20 July 2015)

Date: 20/07/2015
Duncan Lewis, Housing Solicitors, Islington Council bans buy-to-leave investors

The London Borough of Islington has become the first council in the country to require news homes to be regularly occupied under new planning laws.

The Evening Standard reports that the move is aimed at reducing homelessness in the borough by making sure that those who buy properties in Islington as part of an investment portfolio do not leave them empty and untenanted.

Buyers of new-build flats will have to show that the property is occupied for at least two weeks out of every three months.

Failure to do so may lead to the council seeking a High Court injunction to seize the property.

Islington has become an investment hotspot for property buyers from overseas. It is near the Eurostar terminal at King’s Cross, as well as the City and law courts. The local council has also sold off several large social housing estates across the borough, with the result that these have been turned into student accommodation.

Away from Islington’s shopping and entertainment centre are some of the poorest social housing estates in the country, however.

Islington is now also the most densely populated borough in the country, with wealthy residents new to the borough living alongside low-income families, families on long-term welfare benefits and elderly residents.

The proposals to prosecute investors who leave new-build flats empty and breach an injunction may also involve prosecutions and fines up to £60,000 or prison sentences.

Owners of new-builds flats will have to prove they are not buy-to-leave investors – and will have to show housing inspectors evidence of residency, including up-to-date household bills, evidence of deliveries to the property or letters from schools, the Evening Standard reports.

Islington Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Development, Councillor James Murray, said:

“It’s wrong if new homes are sold off plan to investors who don’t even rent the properties out.

“It’s truly galling for Londoners who are desperately trying to find somewhere to live.

“Our new measures make it clear that buy-to-leave is unacceptable. They make clear that new homes have to, at the very least, be lived in.

“I think it’s a pretty reasonable thing to ask.”

Existing homes in the borough will not be affected however.

Recent research suggests that one-quarter of homes built in Islington since 2009 have no occupant registered on the Electoral Register.

Rents in Islington and house prices have soared over the last few years, with a two-bedroom flat in central Islington likely to cost between £700,000 to £800,000 – and a centrally located one-bedroom flat in the region of £500,000 or more.

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can advise social housing tenants and rental tenants in the private sector on a wide range of housing matters, including:

• Council’s obligation to re-house (Section 193)
• Disrepair
• Housing Benefit
• Landlord & Tenant disputes
• Local Authority housing
• Notice to quit
• Right-to-Buy
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• Unlawful eviction.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – including more than 20 offices across London – and Duncan Lewis is a leading provider of Legal Aid services.

For expert legal advice on all housing matters, call Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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