An absurd illustration of Britain’s housing problem | Letters

Grand properties lying empty when we’re in the midst of a housing crisis is ludicrous. Sam Wollaston’s article about a homeless person sleeping in the portico of a £200m palace, which used to be terrace houses, is the most apt and absurd illustration of the UK’s housing problem ( It was Britain’s most expensive house. Why is its only resident a homeless man who lives on the porch?, 10 June ). For a long time, my partner and I lived in the affluent town of Henley-on-Thames. There, behind the famous Leander club, sat a sizeable disused property. Most days I’d drive past it on my way to work and lament that the pigeon-filled building wasn’t occupied. It took over a decade before it was knocked down and the area finally developed; presumably somebody owned it for all that time and sat on it for whatever reasons. Meanwhile, housing estates are being thrown up around every town where I live in South Oxfordshire. These are often described as affordable housing, which I and my millennial friends scoff at, as we struggle to get on the housing ladder. Councils absolutely should have the right to seize these massive mansions and use them as temporary shelter (or anything they want, as long as it benefits the community). Housing shouldn’t be just an asset for the super-rich; shelter is a necessity for everyone. …