Tenants face Olympic eviction
Friday, 3 February 2012 10:54 AM
Rogue landlords may evict a "large number" of tenants as a result of the Olympics, according to Shelter.
Antonia Bance, head of campaigns at the housing charity, said that tenants in east London may be served with eviction notices and rent hikes from landlords seeking to capitalise on the Games.
The opportunity to charge bumper rents has been well publicised, with many properties being advertised at over five times their market rate between July and August.
There are growing fears this could affect ordinary Londoners with many saying that rising housing costs could force them to leave the city during the Olympics.
Bance said: "We're [seeing] landlords beginning to evict their tenants"
"Lots of letting agents are writing clauses into contracts being signed saying you can live here with the exception of this period."
The Department for Communities and Local Government say they have no evidence of the practise and that landlords would have to operate within the law.
Some 22,000 athletes are to descend upon the capital during the Games, along with 6,000 coaches and officials.
Whilst they will be housed in the Olympic Village, but the accompanying family members, journalists and tourists will be left to fight it out for limited accommodation.
Vincenzo Rampulla, spokesman for the National Landlords Association, told the Daily Mail that evicting tenants might not be a logical move for landlords.
He said: "Do they really want to kick out the tenant who's been paying on time all year ... or are they going to want to squeeze out as much as they can for the Olympics, which is only a few weeks?"
However he added that there would undoubtedly be some who go "crazy" at the opportunity to cash in.
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