Squats and squatting / London housing

Maybe the buyers just won't go south of the river?

Much as I love SE1, its just not an ultra luxury location.

Yeah, a place with 'BO' and 'rough' in the name is probably a bit off-putting. :)

In other news ...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/01/subsidised-tenants-are-excluded-from-pool-and-gym-in-london-tower

(I do think it's a nonsense to include private facilities in blocks like that instead of building more public swimming pools, of which there are far too few.)

That L&Q doesn't include it automatically is perfectly logical, but to exclude people from being able to join up is just snobbery.
Whether the facilities remain private or are available to the public is largely a question of management, not construction (as seen in public faculties going into private management - it's *possible* they could go the other way). So maybe it's fine that they are built at a time when local councils are unlikely to. Obviously it would be better to build a public pool...

I suppose they are justifying it by the fact the unsubsidized tenants won't be contributing towards the pool service charge.

No reason why they shouldn't be able to pay for access if they wanted it...

'Ballymore, the developer, said they will not be able to buy individual memberships'

It's not about service charges.

I know it's not about the service charges. I'm saying that the developer will be hiding behind that as an excuse.

It's not a particularly unusual story, so far as I've seen it's fairly standard that the affordable housing residents don't get access to gyms, concierges, etc (although in theory also don't pay the service charge for them).

Yeah. It’s wierd that they stop other residents paying for membership - you’d think proving they lived there and had the tenancy would be reasonably straightforward.

I imagine in part they don't want to deal with the admin of running a gym membership scheme and in part don't want to have arguments about membership being more/less than the service charge element.

(And obviously want to maintain some form of exclusivity.)

I think the second part of your post is the one which is accurate.

It is clearly is nothing other than two tier social segregation, see also 'poor doors'.

This.

It's pretty much identical situation at my parents, and has been for years on a 'new' development.
Different door, different elevator, different amenities. Bins are not in the same location, underground garage/pool/gym/front desk/central garden (they can see it from rear windows, but can't access it, also never gets used by the other residents) are all outside their reach.

Get this too. In the first two years, deliveries/services were pointless because no one could find the 'entrance', until some long drawn out, collective complaining gave them....a number plaque.

I tried to apply to pay to use the garage as it's around 60% vacant to store my dads car and my motorcycle as mine got stolen before. I was refused on the 'individual membership unavailable' as the closing line to my request.

Pressing them further, their wording 'client privileges' basically said. You're too fucking poor to mix.

This is nothing new.

Photo from earlier this year, post semi demolition. This used to be the community garden

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So, the 'Brexit' effect?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jan/21/up-to-25-per-cent-wiped-off-house-prices-some-of-uk-wealthiest-areas-brexit

Just look at how prices are dropping--from £125m to £95m:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/21/us-hedge-fund-tycoon-95m-house-ken-griffin-london-uk

It's a shame the bloke beat me to it, this sounds like a proper steal.

Also this, at the other end of the spectrum:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jan/21/council-ban-housing-benefit-rogue-landlords-brent-bernard-mcgowan

Sadiq Khan to back rent control:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/23/sadiq-khan-makes-rent-control-key-plank-of-mayor-re-election-bid

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I suppose if you need to buy votes that’s one way of doing it.

Especially as the tories will say no, so he doesn't have to actually do anything

He doesn’t do anything anyway

Housing in the UK is so ridiculously fucked that it would be actually harder to make it worse. As opposed to the Tory version of saying 'nothing is wrong here' and blocking legislation that would make landlords fix stuff.

Local authorities have the power to make landlords fix stuff

Some articles on housing and council tax prompted by the recent sales of extremely expensive Central London properties:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/16/council-tax-austerity-local-services

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/09/us-billionaires-london-property-splurge-spurs-calls-to-keep-tax-local

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/08/london-mansion-new-york-local-council-tax-billionaires

It's easy to forget what a bad tax council tax is.

I found this the other day
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p06ywmw9/the-amazing-homes-that-build-themselves
it's fantastic and could form the basis for quickly developing decent housing and at way cheaper cost than conventional housing - unfortunately, I suspect that it will be used to market to well-heeled hipsters at massive premiums rather than used to solve real problems