Haringey Council only Borough in England to Claim Zero Second Homes

In 2019 Haringey Council reported no second homes. Amazingly, it was the only borough in England to do so. Neighbouring boroughs contain over 13,000 second homes, and London’s other 32 Boroughs declare 46,000.

A briefing by Research & Campaigning organisation Action on Empty Homes asks the question, ‘Where are Haringey’s Second Homes?’. It asks why Haringey are the only council in the country not reporting this important data to Government, as requested by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government.

Action on Empty Homes (AfEH) say

In Haringey around 650 whole home Airbnb lets are not available as permanent homes for the local community, as well as another 1,000 long-term empty homes. That means at least 1 home in every 60 in Haringey is unavailable to be lived in and this proportion may be higher in new-build investor-friendly developments.

When Councils grant developers planning permission to build homes it is assumed these new homes will be available to be lived in. But if the properties are bought as investment opportunities, many are never lived in by anyone at all. How are these genuine contributions to housing supply?

These so-called homes won’t help with Haringey’s housing crisis. But action is desperately needed when accommodating the homeless cost the council an astonishing £180 million in the last five years

More on the AfEH webesite.