Agents unite to find survivors accommodation in aftermath of Grenfell Tower tragedy

Agents are pulling together as they unite urgently to find accommodation to rehouse survivors of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.

Daniels, which has five offices in London, said that the imperative and co-ordination now seem to be coming from central government.

Operations manager Brendan Ryan said: “The day after the blaze, we contacted Kensington & Chelsea Council to offer whatever help we could, but we got no response.

“On Monday this week we heard from our own local council, Brent, which was asking for help locating empty two-, three- and four-bedroom properties that were available for rent.

“We immediately contacted our entire database asking if they, or anyone they knew, had a suitable property.

“As a result, we have had between 40 and 50 offers, which we have now put forward.

“All we know at this stage is that the full market rent will be offered and paid by central government, and that there will be the usual shorthold tenancies. Other than that, there is no detail.

“We will be waiving all our usual fees, and our property management team is working flat out to find as many homes as we can and to make these ready to move into as soon as possible.

“People have been calling us – home owners offering to move out of their own properties, so that the tower survivors can move in. But of course, that is not what we want.

“The community spirit really is remarkable, but it is not just the community that is pulling together – it is estate agents too.

“I have been contacted by others, including Spicerhaart and Countrywide, wanting to join in the effort.”

Ryan appealed for any agents, or their friends or contacts, knowing of vacant properties within a mile or two of Grenfell Tower to get in touch.

He said: “This is where the need really seems to be.”

Any agent who may be able to help should ring Daniels on 0208 452 7999 and ask to speak to any of the managers.

It is not known how many surviving households there are from the blaze, which took the lives of at least 79 people.

The London agents have also risen above politics and potential ‘fake news’, with stories that some survivors have been given temporary accommodation miles away – according to some reports, re-housed as far away as Preston – and that others have been offered high-rise accommodation, including multi-storey hotels, which traumatised victims have refused even to enter.

The new housing minister has so far kept a very low profile in the disaster, but yesterday Henry Pryor received what looks to have been the first direct tweet from Alok Sharma.

In it, he said that the policy was to “house locally”. https://twitter.com/AlokSharma_RDG/status/877200734277832706

 

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2 Comments

  1. Whaley

    Amazing stuff there from Daniels, hats off to you for spearheading and anyone else that joins in.

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  2. seenitall

    Good work.

    Just dont get burnt by the Right to rent requirements.   If they had everything burnt ie passports/visas then its going to be difficult to comply with the legislation I would imagin even if you wanted to help?

    Corbyn saying that he wanting to seize empty private property for 2 or 3 years really does scare me.

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