Corbyn is a c $$t.

Setting that aside. This myth perpetuated by the left that rich people by property to sit empty is just that, a myth

I am pretty sure that recent research puts those properties at less than 1% of housing stock

It plays well. Its virtue signalling
Its identity politica. All the sort of shit you expect from the loony left

He stole that idea from the Venezuelan socialists!

Apparently he has difficultly with the concept of private property.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Who knew that was even a myth? Never heard of it.

Here in Maine there's sort of some of that in the nice coastal towns. A lot of rich people summer here and winter elsewhere.

"Corbyn is a c$$t."


Don't hold back, AMC. Tell us how you really feel about the gentleman. ;-)

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"Politics is just show business for ugly people."

It's quite common here and in Vancouver. Whole condo buildings and streets in nice areas are largely vacant.

If you think that guy is a loonie, our mayor and city council are putting out a call for homeowners to billet homeless people. They are also trying to ban Airbnb in town to increase long term rental numbers.

Shortly afterwards, it was found that the house the mayor is living in has not one but two Airbnb suites in it. She does not own the house, but it is owned by her 'partner' who contributes to her campaigns. Can't make this shit up.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Why do you hate homeless people?

       http://www.msn.com/...&ocid=spartandhp You can lump me in with the Natives and the city of Vancouver. Oh the inhumanity.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

So airbnb will not let you list london property once you have exceeded 90 days of rentals without a letter from your local authority as it is reducing the available supply of property to londoners. I actually do not have a big problem with that and i am a landlord

Its supposedly a big problem; russians, arabs and asians supposedly buy to leave but its overplayed

My brother has some armenians who 40-50m in property but they rent the shit out of it

It is a word that conveys exactly what one means

Don't you think that should be under the authority of a buildings strata council to decide rather then the city?

The thing that pisses me off here is we have a huge hotel shortage. Residents are cashing in by airbnb'ing and now that's being taken away. Our council has actually said "market will respond to demand by building more hotels"... Uh.... Airbnb IS the markets response, dumbass!

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Long Chile was a silly place.

I think that when a 3 bedroom property in london is worth 1m and families that work in the local area can not rent because everyone has stuck their properties on airbnb and it means teachers, nurses and others can not even live in the neighbourhoods where they work the communities are stuffed

Apartment blocks are putting in place policies to stop airbnb

A friend has a place in a development called riverlight

If owners rentbon airbnb the concierge service stops them accessing the facilities

Its a huge problem

I hear that, and as someone who just entered the market am really not far removed from the days of frantically trying to find a rental in the tightest market in the country. So I am acutely aware of that pain.

However, a lot of people struggled to get in to the market and now have secondary suites they rent or Airbnb, to help with the mortgage. Hell, I did that. Our plan is to rent to students during the school year (sept-may) then Airbnb over the summer when short term demand is higher and long term demand is lower (once all the students here leave in April there is a flood of rentals available, until they all come back in September).

I don't know. People bitch about housing being a right, but what do you do when everyone wants to live here? How do your guarantee that without making others suffer or pay for it?

At the end of the day, I feel our city has too much say in what citizens do with their private property. I want to curb the trend of giving them more power. Some of our rules, and the inconsistency with which they are applied, are truly mind boggling. It's a scary trend.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Having created the real estate bubble the gov't is now trying to deal with the downsides by doing everything but dealing with the root causes.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Being from the Socialist Republic of Vancouver Island myself, I'm only mildly surprised at Mayor Helps' latest idea. The Air BnB at her own place seemed to confound her. Her free camping for homeless in city parks went over really well, too. I find this fiasco in Victoria amusing. The region has voted NDP for years, yet has some of the highest land values in the province. I think a lot of those that vote NDP are older folks who have good incomes and/or generous pensions. Now, when the mayor suggests these fairweather socialists step up, you know, like real socialists, they recoil in horror.
The Johnson Street Bridge opening has been delayed another three months. I still may move back to the Island, but I'll have to live in a cabin in the woods, surrounded by a moat.

I think you're partially wrong about the majority of ndp voters currently. While that demographic certainly exists (all the teachers, nurses, gov workers are all big ndp voters for obvious reasons) the population here has exploded over the last 15 years. What we are seeing is people from all over the country moving out here, driving up prices, then bitching about how it's soooo expensive and jobs are hard to find and i wasted 4 years at uvic chasing bunnies around and studying marine biology but now can't make over $20/hr whaa whaaa someone hold my hand and pat my bottom for me.

Helps, issitt and Lovejoy have got to go. If there is one argument against amalgamation I can get behind, is that it limits the power of these idiots to their municipality. I'm sure if she could, helps would take out a lane of hwy1 and put in a bike lane in it's place thinking that would solve traffic issues.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

One of his goals is massive redistribution of wealth, because it is an easy way to buy vast numbers of votes.

This is just a facet of his grand plan. Introduce requisitioning as an idea now. Wait. Repeat it after some lesser disaster. Wait. Repeat it after the release of some figures about homelessness. Wait. Repeat it after some figures about the number of people below the minimum wage. Wait. Repeat it after the release of figures about poverty. Wait.

And so on. Over time stoke the anger of the masses towards those who "have" until the mood of the masses switches towards simply taking stuff from the "haves", because "fairness" demands it.

He has dangerous and a very high platform from which to broadcast his ideas. The potential for this to slide into a real fucking mess is real.

Oh, good! I hope I'm wrong with regard to the socialist numbers down there. One of my brothers has lived there for over thirty years, and one of my sisters splits her time between here and her capitalist condo on Dallas Road. My brother is a retired doc, and his wife is retired from UVic. They live behind across Richmond from St. Mike's, and the neighbourhood they live in is $ocialist, if you get my drift.
Helps has to eventually answer for the fiasco with the former police chief issue as well. You're right on the bike lanes. I wonder if she will eventually turn the Mackenzie Interchange into a bike park when it's completed? As for amalgamation, this has been going on for as long as I remember. It's like the Palestinian problem. no one wants to talk about it. I still get a laugh when thinking that Oak Bay has its own police. I imagine they are busy writing tickets for people double parking outside the Penny Farthing on Friday afternoons.
By the way, if you see a big dude with an "I Love Oilsands" t-shirt cruising the local coffee shops, that's probably my brother-in-law. He's an engineers up here. He loves engaging in discussions with people, but some folks curse at him and then quickly walk away.
I love the Island regardless. It's a great place.

I suspect you are right

They have already suggested offering tennants right to buy from private landlords.

I am pretty sure that the checks and balances short of an armed struggle will keep much of his platform in check but none the less he can reap a shed load of damage in the interim

Your proposal is slightly different

Students need reasonably priced housing. They are seasonal and using the summer down time is a supplement

In London, i've an apartment which will complete this time next year.

I think i can probably airbnb it at hotel rates 52 weeks a year.

The problem is that my apartment displaces local residents and as hotels point out, i am competing in their market place with out being subject to the same tax and regulatory requirements.

The fire in london happened in the richest borough in the UK. The average salary is 148k sterling

The building its self was in one of the 10% poorest areas in the UK

This london borough has one of the greatest inequalities in the UK

My house is on a residential street. Over the road, perhaps 500m is similar social housing.

Everytime i airbnb or do a short let i displace local workers from the accomadation

The result is teachers, paramedics, new doctors, policeman all have to move further and further out

I have no issues with letting property. Its how i make my living BUT its a poorly regulated and enforced market that has social costs.

That said. Politicising this is fucking bullshit. These people are c$$ts of the first order