Borough Council aiming to get 1,500 empty homes back in use

[dutchman]

More than 1,500 empty homes have been identified across Nuneaton and Bedworth, as the borough council launches a new strategy aimed at getting them back into use.



Funding has been obtained from the county authority to set up a low cost loan scheme to help owners get their properties back into occupation, either by themselves or by renting them out to people with a housing need.

A Town Hall spokesman said: “By bringing empty homes back into use, we will be assisting to provide a valuable resource to those in need of housing while improving the quality of life for communities which can often be blighted by anti-social behaviour as a result of homes being left vacant.”

Figures released by the council show that, at the beginning of this month, there were 1,583 empty homes in the borough. Of these, 1,178 have stood empty for between three months and two years.

Coun Julie Jackson, cabinet member for housing, said: “We recognise the problems associated with empty homes and are working hard to encourage owners to bring them back into public use.

“Properties can be empty for a number of reasons.

“Around 20 per cent of privately-owned homes currently empty in the borough are because of people having to go into hospital or moving to live in care homes. Properties undergoing major works can also play a role.

“In the last couple of years, public funding has been drastically reduced leaving little in the pot to deal with non-statutory functions of the council.

Despite this, we have recently agreed the appointment of an empty property officer which highlights our commitment to addressing the issue of empty homes.

“We have launched a consultation on our Empty Homes Strategy and I would encourage as many people as possible to share their views and ideas with us so that we can ensure this strategy delivers for our borough.”

A Private Sector Leasing Scheme is also managed by the council which involves the authority allocating and managing properties of behalf of “non commercial” landlords; those who may have inherited a property, are reluctant to sell or who are inexperienced in letting out their homes.

A National Empty Homes Fund was announced last month and will be launched later this year.

It will be administered by the charity, Empty Homes, and the council has already registered an interest to maximise the funding available to owners of empty properties in the borough.