A housing taskforce set up under the auspices of London Labour mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the government to provide nearly £5bn to buy up or convert unsold properties in the wake of the covid crisis.

The taskforce set up by London’s deputy mayor for housing, Tom Copley, to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus lockdown in the London housing market, has called for a £4.9bn one-off fund to allow councils and housing associations to become “buyers of last resort” when demand falters or to convert homes for sale into affordable homes for rent.

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