Welcome to 'Shanty Town' Britain

[Devil Soul]

Welcome to 'Shanty Town' Britain: Desperate Britons are paying £20 a week to landlords renting out 'beds in sheds' as UK's housing crisis spirals

• Pictures show harrowing extent of the housing crisis in the UK
• Windowless, bare rooms converted from sheds are let for £20 a week
• Occupants endure basic and filthy conditions, including a bucket for a toilet
• They are rented by the country’s poorest people and migrants

By SAM WEBB

PUBLISHED: 10:38 GMT, 30 June 2014 | UPDATED: 14:41 GMT, 30 June 2014

The grim reality of Britain's housing crisis has been laid bare by these pictures of the slum-like conditions endured by the most desperate people in UK society.

For just £20 per week, migrant workers and jobless locals live in 'beds in sheds' - windowless garages and outhouses turned into an austere living space.

The images were taken in the Whetley Hill area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, by a builder who was horrified that people are forced to live in such a degrading manner.

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The slum that shames Britain: These pictures, taken in Bradford by a builder in the Whetley Hill area of the West Yorkshire city, show the grim conditions endured by the most desperate people in the UK who are living in converted sheds and garages



One of the pictures shows a mattress on the floor of a breeze-block shack, with a bucket acting as a toilet, The resident's paltry possessions are seen on metal shelves lined with newspaper.



The builder, who was told the occupant is an Eastern European immigrant who sells scrap metal, told the Daily Star Sunday: 'It beggars belief that someone can be so desperate that they would live like this.

'Surely his life back home can’t have been any worse than sleeping on a mattress in a breeze-block shack in Bradford. I’m told he is paying £20 a week for this.'

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A mattress on the floor of a breeze-block shack, next to a bucket that acts as a toilet. The resident's paltry possessions are seen on metal shelves lined with newspaper

The rickety dwellings are a stark contrast to the upmarket Saltaire area of the city, where properties can sell for upwards of £250,000.

The scourge of these often rickety, cramped and unhygienic buildings looks set to grow as the country struggles to accommodate the huge numbers of immigrants arriving here – both legally and illegally.

But some authorities are fighting back. Officials in Harrow, north-west London used an aircraft equipped with a thermal camera to fly over the borough to pinpoint the illegal structures.

'The beds-in-sheds phenomenon means there is a hidden community springing up in the back gardens of our cities - in our borough alone the thermal pictures we receive suggest there are four times as many as we first suspected,' said Susan Hall, the Conservative leader of Harrow council at the time.

'The pressures of migration in London, fuelled by recent waves of new arrivals from eastern Europe, are creating new stresses on local authorities that we just haven't had to contend with before.

'What was once thought, even just 18 months ago, to be a problem for the centre of big cities is now rippling out to the suburbs.'

She added: 'These are people who use council services - like bin collection - but for whom we receive no extra funding.'

Earlier this year, Ealing Council estimated that the inhabitants of beds in sheds has pushed the area’s population up by 60,000 to nearly 400,000.

David Shepherd, Bradford Council’s Assistant Director for Housing, Employment and Skills, said Bradford Council has received no complaints about sub-standard accommodation of thew type in the Whetley Hill area.

He added: 'Standards in rented property are governed by the Housing Act 2004 which gives Local Authorities powers of enforcement to deal with sub-standard accommodation.

'If we discover people living in the conditions described we would use enforcement powers to prevent the use of the property and prosecute any person who failed to comply with a Prohibition Order.

'A Landlord could face a fine of up to £5,000 for breaching the order.

'Bradford Council would be happy to investigate these allegations and would appreciate further details on the location of these properties.'

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The occupant of this shack, believed to be an Eastern European selling scrap metal, pays £20 a week rent

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Refuse: When the occupant's move out, landlords often simply dump the mattress on the street

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The houses are a stark contrast to the upmarket Saltaire area of the city, where properties can sell for upwards of £250,000

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Two worlds: Upmarket Saltaire is a stark contrast to Whetley Hill in Bradford



Read more: Desperate Britons are paying £20 a week for 'beds in sheds' | Mail Online
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[livingdead]

its illegal and landlords who do this should be punished.

 

[notgoodenough]

Fair enough but then where will these people live? I dont think 80 pounds a months buys alot these days in England. The problem is economic. The housing bubble needs to burst. No more money laundering in the housing market. But that wont happen. Too much blood and drug money to be washed in new york and london.

Shanty towns wont decreae. They will only increase. And dont think this isnt happening in the US. This is the new normal.

its illegal and landlords who do this should be punished.

 

[UnChosen]

its illegal and landlords who do this should be punished.

The problem is, the migrant workers really can't afford anything else so it does not really solve anything to punish the landlords...especially since UK real estate prices is extremely high compared to other places in Europe.

Frankly, the problem shouldn't be up to the UK to fix anyways, because it is mostly caused by European Union rules that enables countries like Poland, Greece, Spain, and the Baltic States, etc. to "dump" all their poor people into "richer" countries like Germany, UK and France.

Just recently we're seeing the rise of Eurosceptic parties in several countries, as their citizens are starting to get furious due to the immigration policies forced upon them by the EU. Why should poorer EU countries, instead of solving their own problems, instead be able to pass them off to "rich" countries instead?

What's especially galling is some of these countries are media darlings where everyone is gushing about their stellar economic performance (Poland, Baltic States). Kind of easy to make your country look good when you can exile all the poor people to other countries, not to mention a whole bunch of other preferential treatments.

 

[livingdead]

The problem is, the migrant workers really can't afford anything else so it does not really solve anything to punish the landlords...especially since UK real estate prices is extremely high compared to other places in Europe.

Frankly, the problem shouldn't be up to the UK to fix anyways, because it is mostly caused by European Union rules that enables countries like Poland, Greece, Spain, and the Baltic States, etc. to "dump" all their poor people into "richer" countries like Germany, UK and France.

Just recently we're seeing the rise of Eurosceptic parties in several countries, as their citizens are starting to get furious due to the immigration policies forced upon them by the EU. Why should poorer EU countries, instead of solving their own problems, instead be able to pass them off to "rich" countries instead?

What's especially galling is some of these countries are media darlings where everyone is gushing about their stellar economic performance (Poland, Baltic States). Kind of easy to make your country look good when you can exile all the poor people to other countries, not to mention a whole bunch of other preferential treatments.

@notgoodenough everybody who does not have a job is either given house (depending on his household size) or allowance. The minimum is around 80 pound per week.
This 20 pound house is only rented by foreign low paid workers who want to live there for short term.

@UnChosen which is why councils can act upon landlords who break council rules and make illegal properties. This shed requires council permission even if you dont want it to be rented.
There is no way one can stop migration, but by making the cost of living same as others you take away benefit from migrants. That way only those who survive can come and stay.
The london market can self regulate the migration, all you need is to enforce to the existing coucil laws.

 

[notgoodenough]

My point is the problem is endemic to the system and its underlying corruption and if that doesnt get fixed, things will only get worse. No use blaming landlords or poor immigrants.

@notgoodenough everybody who does not have a job is either given house (depending on his household size) or allowance. The minimum is around 80 pound per week.
This 20 pound house is only rented by foreign low paid workers who want to live there for short term.

@UnChosen which is why councils can act upon landlords who break council rules and make illegal properties. This shed requires council permission even if you dont want it to be rented.
There is no way one can stop migration, but by making the cost of living same as others you take away benefit from migrants. That way only those who survive can come and stay.
The london market can self regulate the migration, all you need is to enforce to the existing coucil laws.

 

[livingdead]

My point is the problem is endemic to the system and its underlying corruption and if that doesnt get fixed, things will only get worse. No use blaming landlords or poor immigrants.

its not endemic, only very few do it(in only two or three specific councils), and if neighbours complain, council is always going to investigate. because concils love a bit of extra money.

London property market cannot be fixed because london is a successful global city. businesses will rather pay 10 times more money than open business in manchester for example. let the market control how many come here.
Govt should not influence any side (supply or demand) unless really needed.

 

[Abingdonboy]

its illegal and landlords who do this should be punished.

The UK is a tiny island with a severe strain on housing, the population is only increasing year on year thanks to immigration primarily from Eastern Europe, this is going to become more and more common. Cheap housing is a thing of the past, house prices in the UK are only going to climb to ever greater highs, it's a simple case of supply and demand.

 

[livingdead]

The UK is a tiny island with a severe strain on housing, the population is only increasing year on year thanks to immigration primarily from Eastern Europe, this is going to become more and more common. Cheap housing is a thing of the past, house prices in the UK are only going to climb to ever greater highs, it's a simple case of supply and demand.

which is why I want action on those greedy landlords. There is no way you can provide 20 quid per week housing.
This is health hazard and also encourages migration.
Migrants and locals should have level playing field, by providing 20 quid living space you are illegally making migration easy. There is nothing wrong in easter european coming but many of them leave london within a few weeks because market (both property market and job market) self corrects.

 

[Jayhawk]

Zionist conspiracy

Yes it is

 

[notgoodenough]

Im sorry. I cant have a conversation with someone not on my level intellectually. Its too tedious. No offense but what you wrote is so far from economic and financial reality that I just cant evdn take it seriously as a retort. Cheers.

its not endemic, only very few do it(in only two or three specific councils), and if neighbours complain, council is always going to investigate. because concils love a bit of extra money.

London property market cannot be fixed because london is a successful global city. businesses will rather pay 10 times more money than open business in manchester for example. let the market control how many come here.
Govt should not influence any side (supply or demand) unless really needed.