- London Mayor Sadiq Khan is proposing allowing councils to more than double council tax on empty second homes to help alleviate London’s housing crisis.
- He cited Nine Elms, in the city’s southwest, as an example of a location with numerous unoccupied "gold brick" investment flats.
- "They’ve not been lived in, because those who bought it know equity will go up and the price of the flat will go up, and they don’t need to live there," Sir Sadiq said.
- This proposal follows Khan's recent announcement of exploring development on London's green belt land due to high housing demand.
- He said that London needs 88,000 new homes to be built annually for the next decade.
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