It’s only been a few weeks since Dispatches and the Times revealed how King Charles and Prince William “really” make their money. Charles, as monarch, owns the Duchy of Lancaster. William, as the Prince of Wales, owns the Duchy of Cornwall. Both duchies are vast networks of commercial and residential real estate, but it’s more complicated than that. Basically, both duchies are making millions off the taxpayers by charging the NHS for ambulance garages. They’re charging rent on fire stations. They’re charging the Navy for use of the seabed. It’s insane. Alongside all of those revelations, the Mirror ended up publishing an interesting exposé on the slum-like conditions of the residential rentals in the Duchy of Cornwall. William basically traps seniors into horrible conditions and the residents are contractually obligated to make any improvements (which they cannot afford). Well, obviously, King Charles is a slumlord too. Despite my bitching about how few royal reporters are covering this scandal, the Mirror recently revealed that the rentals controlled by Charles are in pretty bad shape too.
The King owns dozens of rental properties on his Sandringham Estate that fail minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords. We previously revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall is leaving vulnerable tenants at risk of fuel poverty, and some are living in cold, damp and mouldy homes. Now, after examining Energy Performance Certificates for scores on the West Norfolk estate, we have found more than 30 properties fail to meet minimum requirements.
One tenant said: “It is very cold and the main problem is the single glazing. It lets out all the heat. Some tenants have single glazed windows that are completely rotten. We think it is because King Charles does not like the look of double glazing, but you have to be careful what you say because they are so powerful. Many of these properties were built under Queen Victoria and they need to be modernised.” A Sandringham spokesperson would not comment on individual properties but said it “invests in an ongoing programme of improvement” and that “energy efficiency was prioritised”.
Since 2020, it has been illegal for landlords to rent out homes rated below E under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations. Of more than 30 rated F or G at Sandringham, eight were rated G with one getting the lowest possible score of one point out of 100. Three were exempt from the regulations – one because the work would cost over £3,500 to carry out, another because insulation would “have a negative impact on the building” and a third because “all relevant improvements have been made”. Loopholes in the regulations mean the rules do not apply to properties where the same tenant has lived there for many years and the EPC was done “voluntarily”.
It is not clear if the King has immunity from the regulations, which carry fines of up to £5,000 per property for breaches. A 2022 investigation by the Guardian found the monarch has personal exemption in his private capacity written into more than 160 laws.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Everyone should have a decent and safe place to call home. Too often, tenants are forced to endure poor conditions in draughty, freezing homes that aren’t up to standard, unable to challenge landlords for fear of being slapped with a rent hike or being pushed out altogether. A chronic shortage of genuinely affordable social homes combined with record high private rents and years of under-regulation has created a huge power imbalance in private renting and left tenants at the mercy of landlords.”
Note: these are not Crown Estate rentals nor are they Duchy of Lancaster rentals. Sandringham is privately owned by the monarch – it was originally owned by Queen Victoria, and on and on through King George VI and QEII inherited it from her father. This is a privately owned estate and Charles is choosing to be a sh-tty landlord to his tenants. Not only that, he’s likely exempt from any and all tenant-protections, which means he can be a slumlord without any sort of legal repercussions. This is all the tenants have – publicly shaming him for being such a terrible landlord.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.