There has been a high level of demand from people working in the NHS, including those who are on the front-line of the crisis, with the scheme supported by more than 30 companies.
Merilee Karr, chair of the STAA, said: “The huge success we saw with the NHS Homes scheme last summer showed that the authorities needed our support in housing their staff as they worked through the pandemic.
“As the situation with Cocid-19 has worsened dramatically in recent weeks, our property partners and homeowners want to get behind our key workers and say thank you, as well as helping to bring the virus under control. Wherever possible, properties have been reduced in price and in some cases are free. Everyone is doing their bit to try and help the key workers get through this pandemic and get us back to normality as quickly as possible.
“By staying in safe and clean accommodation, key workers won’t have the worry of a daily commute on public transport and will be able to protect vulnerable family members by staying in a separate, self-contained property.”
The TrustedStays scheme is supported by some of the UK’s major players in the short-term accommodation industry such as UnderTheDoormat, Altido, CityRelay, Guest Ready, Sykes, A Place Like Home, Way of Life and Urban Stays.
Jeremy Slater, general manager UK, Altido, commented: “We are once again proud to participate in TrustedStays and with our wide reach of properties from Scotland to London, we are in a position to provide quality accommodation in homes for NHS and other key workers as their needs arise. The past 12 months have been difficult for everyone, and we hope that by participating in this initiative once again, that we can all help to get through this final push and out the other side.”
Richard Bridger, COO, UnderTheDoormat, said: “Offering significantly discounted homes on TrustedStays is a valuable way the industry can support frontline key workers in the fight against Covid-19 and it’s our way of saying thank you to NHS staff.
“We hope that providing NHS staff with safe, clean and comfortable homes to stay in helps brings comfort to them during this tough time. TrustedStays will also offer a long-term sustainable solution for accommodating professionals who need safe, accredited properties to stay in, in a post-COVID world, and provides the industry with an important source of bookings during the current restrictions on all but essential stays.”
Well done on this intitiative but there is wider point here, Low interest rates coupled with short let technology means that properties that were previously sold when someone got a job somewhere else or moved in with someone aren’t being sold. They are becoming short lets that reduce stock for key workers to buy. Reduce supply compounds the asset price inflation of low interest rates to become income that isn’t necessarily included on a self assessment tax submission or declared as a capital gain when sold.
Central government do not seen to have the means to identify this income effectively but if short let firms were included as data holders for schedule23 FA 2011, as residential letting agents are, there would be a very effective and efficient way of identifying short let income and property tax liability.
It wouldn’t be hard to do, the technology is designed to identify address, availability and night let during the year along with the rate charged. Effectively that’s an income statement that is linked to owners.
Not requested SA105 L&P is currently £2billion per annum ( tax that HMRC doe not request be paid but is payable) It would be good if HMRC got to grips with how much money isn’t being declared by short let owners too.
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