New figures show 1,857 properties lying empty near Grenfell Tower as fire survivors remain homeless

‘Nearly 2,000 homes are lying empty near the Grenfell Tower, amid faltering efforts to rehouse more than 100 families left homeless by the fire that gutted the high rise.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request to Kensington and Chelsea Council, which owns the tower, prompted the authority to release updated figures showing there are 1,857 properties lying empty in the borough.
The Who Owns England? blog, which submitted the FoI request, suggested that dozens of the vacant homes may have been empty for between 11 and 15 years and many had wealthy offshore owners who regarded them as investments rather than places to live.
The revelations are likely to add to the controversy over how survivors of the Grenfell fire have been treated, in a borough considered to be one of the wealthiest in the country.’
Read more: New figures show 1,857 properties lying empty near Grenfell Tower as fire survivors remain homeless