A oretty part of London where 4,000 homes have unlisted owners has become a “holiday town” for super-rich foreigners, according to locals.
Kensington and Chelsea is known for lavish homes and extravagant parks but it is also home to thousands of homes held by overseas entities.
Local campaigners claim that over half of them, some 4,000 homes, are missing or have incomplete details about who owns them.
Kensington Against Dirty Money said owners are using trusts to remain anonymous and make it difficult for the government to carry out money laundering checks.
Residents say the issue has been around for a long time.
One person, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said: “It’s always existed but it doesn’t mean it should continue to. People are entitled not to have their name publicly available on a property but only if the money is clean and HMRC can know who they really are.”
Angela Lambert, 71, said the influx of foreign money had turned the borough into a ‘holiday town’. She said: “It’s bringing money into the country but it’s not helping people in the local area.
“It’s like having a holiday home. It brings money into the area in the summer but in the winter it’s dead, there is no money. It also means people can’t afford to buy.”
Evan Kotsis, 40, said he was concerned about “crazy” house prices and worried his kids won’t be able to afford to buy a home in the future.
He said: “The council needs to do something. I worry about the future, about my children and if they will be able to have their own property, even a small one.”
He added: “I am from Greece and we went through economic troubles before and things never really got better.”
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Kensington and Bayswater Joe Powell, who also runs Kensington Against Dirty Money, said there were “far too many” properties across Kensington where the owners are a mystery.
He said: “Despite two new laws, and a promised clamp down on dirty money in London, loopholes are still allowing anonymous property ownership via secretive trusts and use of tax havens.
“The government must now act and end the use of trusts to hide who really owns property in this country. In Kensington this will help the police go after corrupt money in luxury property that drives our high rates of empty homes and the housing crisis in our community.”
HMRC carries out supervisory checks on estate agencies to ensure they are meeting money laundering regulations but has no oversight over the purchasing of property by foreign companies.
