MSNBC: Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists

[PCS]

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10288441-olympic-housing-crunch-london-landlords-evict-tenants-to-gouge-tourists

Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists

By Marian Smith, msnbc.com

LONDON -- Landlords in Britain's capital are evicting tenants so they can cash in on this summer's Olympic Games by charging tourists many times the usual rent.

Homes in the east London boroughs where many events are to be held are fetching between five and 15 times their typical rates as properties are rebranded as short-term "Olympic lets." Some landlords are also enforcing expensive "penalty" clauses for tenants who want to remain during the gathering of the world's top athletes.

Rent controls are almost non-existent in Britain and some Londoners told msnbc.com that the looming increase in housing costs will leave them with no choice but to leave the city for the summer.

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Same as it ever was. This happened here too. Even with commercial stuff,(one reason why I went out of business. Leases skyrocketed shortly after Salt Lake won the bid). Many folks took a bath,(just like in Atlanta before them),as they raised rents so much that folks simple went somewhere else farther away and simply took alternative transportation and things like that.

[Teller]

I'm glad Cumberland, MD will never get the Olympics. I love them from a distance, but to hell with crap like this.