Empty home plan (From Warrington Guardian)

Empty home plan

UNOCCUPIED houses which have fallen into a state of disrepair could be taken over by Warrington Borough Council.

Plans outlined by the government would allow local authorities to take over homes which have been unoccupied for more than six months in a bid to ease the demand for housing. There are currently 1,173 private properties in the borough which have been vacant for more than six months.

The Government proposes to introduce empty dwelling management orders in a bid to by-pass the current time consuming process of compulsory purchase.

The Government also says it is considering introducing the proposals as across the country there are many landlords who are unwilling to participate in voluntary measures to bring a property back into use. While some local authorities are prepared to use enforcement action there are others which find the process too lengthy.

The aim of the new scheme is to provide backup to such arrangements where owners turn down offers of assistance and do not have plans of their own to bring the property back into use.

For a housing authority to arrange occupation of the dwelling they must seek the consent of the owner to give them one more chance to bring it back into use. But if the owner still refused to give consent another type of fixed order could be made.

The Government consultation ends on October 14, Warrington Borough Council has been asked to submit a response.