Today at City Hall, London Assembly Member Sian Berry raised questions about the principles behind the Mayor’s ‘first dibs’ housing policy.
Her questions included concerns that it would shut people out of London, and that people could still use London property as ‘golden bricks’ if the Mayor focused only on past residency in London not the intention to live in a home in the future. [1]
Sian Berry says:
“I am worried that the 'First Dibs' policy Mayor Sadiq Khan is putting forward will focus too much on past residency and not on the intention to live in a home. London must remain welcoming to people who want to come here to live, but this policy risks shutting out new residents coming to work or to be near relatives – real Londoners who intend to live here. It won’t tackle the risk of rich people who already live here buying up second homes as investments.”
“I welcome the Mayor’s commitment to review the Concordat, which was a totally ineffective agreement with the developers to market homes first to Londoners. Previous Green Assembly Members also highlighted Boris Johnson’s failed plan to address this issue and the way the agreement was being subverted by developers.
”But I believe that the real problem we need to address is any people treating homes as investment ‘gold bricks’ and not intending to live in them.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan announced today that he would look at new options to replace the ‘toothless’ Concordat of the previous mayor. The Concordat aimed to “stop new homes in the capital being sold first- off plan as ‘golden bricks’ to overseas investors.”
Notes to editors
Sian Berry is available for interview
Sian Berry was elected as a Green member of the London Assembly in May 2016. She was the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London in 2016, coming third and bettering her 2008 result of fourth place. She has been a councillor for Highgate ward in Camden since 2014.
[1] Video Clip – Sian Berry asking the Mayor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c-xckiM4oc