Thousands of empty homes in the UK to be refurbished and put up for sale
The UK government is making £300 million available to bring thousands of empty homes back into use across England and onto the property market.
Under the scheme 5,000 empty, and in many cases derelict, properties will be refurbished and put back onto the market over the next three years, said Communities minister Don Foster.
The sum is on top of a £160 million that ministers have already committed to bringing empty homes back into use.
The government has also given councils greater powers to tackle empty homes locally including allowing councils to charge up to 150% of the normal Council Tax rate on owners of the most problematic neglected homes from April 2013 and in the most severe cases, enabling councils to take over the most problematic neglected homes through the use of Empty Dwelling Management Orders.
‘Empty homes blight communities, attract crime and rats and deprive people of available housing. What’s worse this is a vicious circle. One derelict home brings an area down and can lead to more and in places whole communities have been destroyed. I am determined quite literally to stop the rot,’ said Foster.
‘This extra money will help communities refurbish empty and abandoned homes, bring in new residents, provide desperately needed extra affordable housing for families and regenerate communities,’ he added.
A range of organizations including councils, housing associations, community and voluntary groups as well as high street regeneration groups will be able to bid for a share of the funding.
Ministers are also considering future measures to bring not just homes but empty buildings generally back into use including making it easier to convert commercial into residential property and making more use of space above shops as homes.
‘Empty homes are a very serious problem for communities. They cause a loss of housing, produce an increase in crime and bring entire areas down. The government has shown it is equally serious about tackling this problem and I welcome this massive injection of extra cash that will help towns across the country tackle the blight of empty homes and regenerate communities,’ said TV presenter, architect, and Independent Empty Homes Adviser George Clarke.
Homes and Communities Agency chief executive Pat Ritchie welcomed the announcement and said it will build on the work the organization is already doing to bring long term empty homes back into use through our Affordable Homes Programme.
‘We will be working with our local partners to help meet local need and in doing so, support their efforts to tackle homelessness and regenerate neighborhoods that are suffering from the blight of empty homes and help to prevent neighborhood decline,’ added Ritchie.
Source: propertywire.com
(27.11.2012)