merridew

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Interesting. Here, when conversions happen to make cellars into self-contained units, I'd argue they are frequently only suitable for short term lets, on the basis that no-one should have to live like that. In converting properties whose lower ground floors were never meant to be used for residential purposes into housing, we get stuff like this.

Rental Opportunity of the Week: A Remodelled Crypt, for Goths Your own windowless basement in London Bridge, for just £2,000 a month.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/akz9ze/rental-opportunity-london-bridge-basement

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Well on that we are definitely in agreement.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (6 children)

In this specific instance, I suspect it is because there is every indication that the basement room rented by OP was not, in fact, a fully self contained suite within a house, but was a guest room.

How do you physically get into these "basement suites" in your part of the world? When I lived in a townhouse, access to the cellar was via a door in the middle of the property leading off the kitchen. There would be no practical way to split the cellar off from the main property as a separate dwelling. But having guests sleep down there every so often was no big deal.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I understand that. OP expressly described this basement experience as "renting out spare rooms", though, so I hope you'll understand why I'm treating this as a spare room being rented out.

I live in London and am very familiar with the issue of affordable self-contained accommodation being flipped into overpriced Airbnb units, and I would agree with you that such units should be retained as residential housing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I slept on a pull out bed in a mate's living room once so I guess that should be converted into a separate dwelling.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I don't see how that matters. A spare room is a spare room whether it's in the basement, the first floor, or the attic.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago

Bloody hell, what did party rings ever do to you?

Also: oreo is ranked too high on the list. I know it's at the bottom. That's too high.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't reopen. Channel crossing passengers are down 30% since 2019. They've also canned the Disneyland Express.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

You can only starve a government body of funding -- making it muddle along depleting its reserves and selling off assets -- for so long until a final bill tips it over the edge, so I'd argue that if it wasn't this bill it would be another bill.

Other councils took risky approaches to replace money cut under Austerity:

Woking said that against its available core funding of £16m in the 2023-24 financial year, the council faced a deficit of £1.2bn.

Racked up to finance the building and acquisition of a vast empire of commercial assets, its investments included a complex of sky-high towers – standing as the tallest buildings outside a big city in England – including a four-star Hilton hotel, public plazas, parking facilities and shops.

Many councils piled into property and other commercial enterprises to raise money to fill gaping holes in their budgets and to undertake regeneration projects after sharp cuts to central government funding introduced under the Conservatives’ austerity drive.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/07/woking-council-declares-bankruptcy-with-12bn-deficit

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago

If Birmingham city council was taking money from Russia it probably wouldn't be bankrupt.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 years ago (6 children)

If the owners are living in it at the same time, and you're renting out a room, that's hardly a hotel.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Equal pay is something women have had to fight for.

In this case,

the court found hundreds of mostly female employees working in roles such as teaching assistants, cleaners and catering staff missed out on bonuses which were given to staff in traditionally male-dominated roles such as refuse collectors and street cleaners.

Women in the UK only gained the right to equal pay in 1970.

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