Empty homes brought back into use

Empty Homes Week, 25 November to 1 December, is organised by the Empty Homes agency to highlight the waste of empty property nationwide, and to celebrate the success of numerous examples and new initiatives used to bring empty homes back into use and to encourage more widespread action. A fifth of all homes now created are the result of empty homes being returned to use.

Government statistics show an alarming drop in house building, with affordable house building at its lowest level ever. At the same time housing need nationally has risen to new levels with record numbers of homeless applications and people living in temporary accommodation.

Cllr Kim Forward, lead member for housing and community services explained:
“Hastings Borough Council has a dedicated Empty Homes Officer who works with a wide ranging selection of partners so that when an empty home is brought to our attention, we are able ensure that the correct service is employed to deal with any concerns”.

“We work with community members who are adversely affected by empty homes by reacting to information that is supplied by the residents. Our response can be anything from having a property boarded up temporarily while the owner is being pursued to take responsibility, to serving a compulsory purchase order where the owners are stubbornly resistant to bringing their property back into use”.

“The council also offers advice to owners on how to bring a property back into use, we can assist owners who wish to sell, advise owners on how to find a suitable contactor or surveyor to help with renovations and also advise potential purchasers on buying an empty property”.

Visit www.emptyhomes.com for further information about Empty Homes Week.

Also in: Home Ground