Homes sell-off to raise repair cash - 19th December 2007
Islington Gazette - London,England,UK
This included scaling down some refurbishment plans and selling up to 500 empty homes. Residents have since been consulted and last Wednesday's meeting was ...

Cinema site turned down for housing - 18th December 2007
Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph - Kettering,England,UK
By Bernie Goodjohn THE latest in a series of applications to build affordable homes on the site of a former cinema which has been empty for 11 years has ...

Empty houses may be seized - 17th December 2007
Daily Post - Llandudno Junction, UK
Its 2007-2012 strategy for dealing with empty private sector houses will be debated by the Executive Board on Tuesday. Empty property – vacant for more than ...

Empty homes tax discount removal plans - 13th December 2007
Peterborough Evening Telegraph - Peterborough,England,UK
Council bosses in East Cambridgeshire has launched an initiative to bring empty homes back into use. The council is set to scrap a 50% tax discount which ...

Empty homes 'paid for by Ministry of Defence' - 13th December 2007
Property News - London,England,UK
The Ministry of Defence (mod) is renting more than 8000 empty homes at taxpayers' expense, a BBC investigation has found. The BBC study has revealed that ...

Empty homes thought to affect property prices - 13th December 2007
Your Mortgage - London,UK
House prices are 17% lower in areas of England with the highest proportion of empty homes, according to Halifax. The lender's most recent survey of empty ...

Empty homes take toll on property prices - 12th December 2007
AboutProperty.co.uk - London,UK
Living in the vicinity of an empty property can take a financial and psychological toll on UK homeowners, according to new research. ...

mod 'pays for 8000 empty homes' - 12th December 2007
BBC News - UK
Figures show 20% of married quarters are empty, but cost taxpayers £28.78ma year in rent paid to a housing company. The mod rents another 1884 properties ...

House Prices Slow...But Don't Panic - 11 December 2008
Daily Express
...Although the property boom is slowly grinding to a halt, the modest increase may yet be a sign that it’s not all doom and gloom.

Leeds is top council for tackling empty homes - 11th December 2007
24dash - Hereford,UK
Leeds City Council remains at the forefront of efforts to bring the country's estimated 700000 empty homes back to use. Through a combination of enforcement ...

One in 4 Brits ''affected by empty homes'' – property development ... - 11th December 2007 Mortgages for Business - London,UK
A quarter of Britons have lived in a street with an empty property, according to a new survey. Research conducted by the Halifax found that many of those ...

Town to give input on shop - 11th December 2007
This is Wiltshire.co.uk - Swindon,England,UK
By Gordon Simpson PEOPLE in Malmesbury are being asked what kind of shop they would like to see open in an empty property in the town. ...

Is the city's flats market at saturation point? - 11th December 2007
Liverpool Daily Post - Liverpool,UK
Liverpool has seen increasing numbers of empty properties purchased as "buy to leave" while waiting lists and homelessness have increased. ...

One in four affected by empty homes - 11th December 2007
Property News - London,England,UK
More than a quarter of Britons have experienced the problem of empty homes first hand, research has shown. A survey from mortgage lender the Halifax ...

More to be done for empty homes, says Halifax - 11th December 2007
Mortgage Introducer - London,England,UK
One in four are affected by empty homes according to Halifax, prompting the lender to call for further governmental action. Halifax has called for the ...

One in Four Affected by Empty Homes - 10th December 2007
PR Newswire UK (press release) - London,UK
Those who have experienced living near an empty home claim the presence of the empty home has had a negative impact on the value of property (22%) and their ...

Nothing happening to empty homes - 10th December 2007
Moneyextra.com - UK
To mark the start of Empty Homes Action week, Halifax has carried out some research into how the uk's properties that lie vacant are affecting the moods and ...

FIRSTRUNG, FIRST TIME BUYERS, THE WEEK IN FOCUS - 9th December 2007
Firstrung - London,UK
This is the fourth annual Halifax survey of Empty Homes in England. The Empty Homes National Week of Action runs from December 3rd to 7th 2007. ...

Country still plagued by 300000 empty homes - 8th December 2007
Property Industry News - London,England,UK
There were 288763 empty private homes in England in April 2006, according to new research published this week by Halifax. The study has found that many ...

The streets of shame - 8th December 2007
GazetteLive - Middlesbrough,UK
There are an estimated 700000 empty homes in England, which could be brought into use. There are nearly 2000 in Stockton. In 2006/07, 508 households were ...

Thousands need a home, so why are these empty? - 8th December 2007
Peterborough Evening Telegraph - Peterborough,England,UK
The city council offers owners a range of options – including an empty property grant of up to £20000 for any works needed to bring the property back up to ...

West Norfolk empty homes shock
Lynn News - King's Lynn,England,UK
By Louise Brain SHOCKING new figures reveal there are 25 empty homes for every homeless family in the most dire need, in West Norfolk. ...

NEARLY 290000 EMPTY HOMES IN ENGLAND - HALIFAX 04/12/2007
Firstrung - London,UK
This is the fourth annual Halifax survey of Empty Homes in England. The Empty Homes National Week of Action runs from December 3rd to 7th 2007. ...

Empty homes 'still a problem' - 7th December 2007
The Mortgage Provider Online - Tring,England,UK
One factor that is often overlooked when discussing the uk's housing shortage is the number of homes standing unused around the country, and the Empty Homes ...

Delight as the council acts on abandoned eyesore - 7th December 2007
Woking News and Mail - Woking,England,UK
Ian Jameson (second right), wife Jan and neighbours in Orchard Drive are delighted that the empty property is being sorted out. NEIGHBOURS have described a ...

Plan to renovate Harlow's empty homes - 7th December 2007
Herts 24 - United Kingdom
A JOINT project between five local authorities and two housing associations will help renovate empty council homes in Harlow. The Place project is organised ...

'Report empty homes' call - 5th December 2007
Blackburn Citizen - UK
As part of National Week of Action on Empty Homes, Blackburn with Darwen Council is asking homeowners to contact the authority. It is hoped the homes can ...

Disused properties: No more empty promises - 5th December 2007
Independent - London,England,UK
Wherever you live, you've probably looked at similar unloved homes the same way. There are currently 663000 wasted empty homes in England, according to the ...

Empty homes initiative - 4th December 2007
Gloucestershire Gazette - Dursley,England,UK
By Liza-Jane Gillespie THE district council is looking for empty homes so they can be brought back into use. As part of the Empty Homes National Week of ...

Housing shortage is growing concern for Brits - 4th December 2007
AboutProperty.co.uk - London,UK
This week is National Empty Homes Week of Action (3rd- 7th December), which seeks to bring empty homes back into use as method of addressing shortages. ...

Empty homes 'still an issue' 4th December 2007
Property News - London,England,UK
A new study from Halifax has revealed that the number of empty homes in England fell by 290000 between 2003 and 2006, though some areas have seen numbers ...

Nearly 300000 empty houses in England - 3rd December 2007
AboutProperty.co.uk - London,UK
Some 15 local authorities have what Halifax defines as 'high' levels of housing stock sitting empty (with more than three per cent of property not occupied) ...

BIG REVAMP - 3rd December 2007
Grimsby Evening Telegraph - Grimsby,England,UK
In one street, 26 per cent of homes were empty at the time of the survey - more than 30 per cent of North East Lincolnshire's empty homes are in the East ...

Nearly 290000 empty homes in England - 1st December 2007
Easier (press release) - Chester,UK
To coincide with the Empty Homes National Week of Action (3rd to 7th December), new Halifax research shows that there were 288763 empty private homes in ...

Empty houses outstrip new-homes targets - 1st December 2007
This is Money - UK
The number of homes empty for longer than six months far outstrips the Government's revised housebuilding targets of 240000 new properties per year. ...

Homeowners asked to take action - 27th November 2007
Weston & Somerset Mercury - eston-super-Mare,England,UK
As part of National Empty Property Week, North Somerset Council is encouraging people to take action. Homeowners are being asked to bring their properties ...

Empty House 'Tax' Should Boost Housing Market - 27th November 2007
4ni.co.uk - UK
Mr Robinson said that he plans to rate empty homes at 100% to encourage their use - as a potential boost for those seeking homes - possibly by 2009, ...

We build 3 million homes - or leave these families in Dickensian ... 27th November 2007 Guardian Unlimited - UK
... be done to mobilise empty houses, to help elderly people to move into smaller flats and to stamp out what is Britain's ugliest inequality: second homes. ...

Leaving home for the homeland - 24th November 2007
Guardian Unlimited - UK
Most of those who leave cannot take the money they have earned during their life and if they leave their homes empty the state will eventually confiscate ...

Birmingham aims to tackle empty properties - 22nd November 2007
Midlands Housing - UK
Birmingham has made considerable improvements in dealing with empty homes since 2003, when the council's first Empty Property strategy was launched. ...

½bn plan to boost homes - 22nd November 2007
Southport Visiter - Southport,England,UK
... with more new homes built and refurbished, and ongoing development of community programmes and facilities. Tackle issues of empty properties and improve ...

First-time buyers: first rung has just come a step closer - 21st November 2007
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
Following the Housing White Paper last month, minister Yvette Cooper announced a drive to bring empty homes back into use and give more cash to councils ...

Flats nearly half of town housing stock - 20th November 2007
Dorset Echo - England,UK
Panellists heard that more than 2000 homes stood empty in Bournemouth in April this year. More than 600 had been empty for more than six months. ...

What to do with our historic homes? 19th November 2007
Pendle Today - Burnley,East Lancashire,UK
Sadly, those days are long gone and the hotel has stood empty and increasingly derelict for several years now. The developers (from out of town) see ...

Homeless to 'recycle' empty homes - 19th November 2007
24dash - Hereford,UK
... homeless people help refurbish empty properties and then move into them, is set to come to East Leeds in a partnership with East North East Homes Leeds. ...

Time for a true countryside alliance - 19th November 2007
Guardian Unlimited - UK
One person's freedom to buy a cottage with a sea view, which will sit empty for much of the year, must surely be weighed against a rural community's ...

Blitz on vacant property - 16th November 2007
Liverpool City Council - United Kingdom
A CAMPAIGN to rid Liverpool of thousands of empty and derelict buildings is to be stepped up. Enforcement action is to be taken against owners of more than ...

Homeless volunteers renovate empty houses - 16th November 2007
24dash - Hereford,UK
The Canopy Housing Project will then rent the homes back to the people who helped spruce them up. Ten council houses in the east of the city are the first ...

Parents buy up homes in advance - 16th November 2007
Inside Housing - UK
By Martin Hilditch Anxious parents are leaving homes standing empty on housing estates after buying them up for their children, a study of the buy-to-let ...

Mayor in call over Grove Hill estate - 16th November 2007
GazetteLive - Middlesbrough,UK
ACTION to bring the bulldozers in to demolish more than 200 empty homes in Middlesbrough's Grove Hill estate needs to be taken now, says Middlesbrough's ...

Carlisle brings empty houses back into use - 13th November 2007
Northern Housing - UK
This would be achieved from the rental income received when the property is brought back into a good state of repair. An Empty Property Grants scheme is ...

£2bn regeneration plan costs homes but fails to smarten the North - 9th November 2007
Times Online - UK
Landlords in some areas bought empty houses earmarked for demolition in the hope of making a profit from compulsory purchase orders, putting the overall ...

Boarded-up homes bring arson worry - 8th November 2007
The Asian News - UK
One of the most serious happened in August when 25 firefighters dealt with a blaze involving five empty homes on Nile Street. ...

Councillor: Darwen's never looked so bad - 8th November 2007
Lancashire Evening Telegraph - UK
And Coun Paul Browne has been backed by Darwen MP Janet Anderson in his claim that empty homes in designated regeneration areas such as Redearth, ...

Bricks, mortar and social engineering - 6th November 2007
Spiked - London,UK
Those who treat their homes as an investment, those who buy-to-let or leave their holiday homes empty are wrongly condemned for their part in the housing ...

New fund aims to help get empty homes back in use - 2nd November 2007
Bourne Local - Bourne,England,UK
Under South Kesteven District Council's new Empty Homes Fund, as long as a property has been unoccupied and unfurnished for at least six months and owners ...

Call to reduce homelessness - 1st November 2007
Cambridge Evening News - Cambridge,England,UK
EMPTY homes should be used to fight homelessness in a fast-growing area, an MP believes. Jim Paice wants action in East Cambridgeshire after uncovering ...

Can't sell it? Let it! - 1st November 2007
Letting News - UK
This applies equally to landlords trying to sell an investment property. An empty property is a waste of potential income and it is always preferable to ...

Success for no use empty as EDMO is awarded in Swale - 31st October 2007
eGov monitor - London,UK
Empty property officers at the four District Councils are working hard to ensure similar help and advice is available to property owners across East Kent. ...

3m new homes will not end crisis - 29th October 2007
Guardian Unlimited - UK
Councils with "robust strategies" to reduce the estimated 670000 empty homes nationally, including 300000 vacant long-term, would also get extra funds. ...

The property market - October 28, 2007
Times Online - UK
From January 1, Vat on renovations to homes empty for between two and three years will be slashed to 5%. Currently, that discount onthe normal 17.5% rate ...

Government offers cash incentives to ease housing shortage
Times Online - UK
We want to give more support to communities and councils who are doing their bit to deliver the extra housing needed, including bringing more empty homes ...

Unite welcomes cash boost for affordable council homes - 26th October 2007
Politics.co.uk - London,UK
Commenting on bringing empty homes back into use Mr. Dromey, who campaigned for the powers that councils now have, said, "Empty homes in communities full of ...

Extra 3m homes 'will not stop prices rising' - 26th October 2007
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
Also included in the plans is a £510m fund to help bring empty homes back into use. Councils who aggressively target empty properties, including through ...

Will there be a rate cut before Christmas? Kate Barker knows - but ... 26th October 2007
Times Online - UK
But images of decay and dilapidation have been appearing, after our report last week on the scandal of Britain's 840000 empty homes. ...

How should city tackle homes crisis - 26 October 2007
The Argus.co.uk - Brighton,UK
"With readily-available sites drying up, the city council must be quick to get existing empty homes brought back into use, whether by compulsory purchase of ...

High cost of empty properties - 24th October 2007
Lancashire Evening Post - Preston,England,UK
Council care homes closed down in a storm of controversy remain empty more than a year later, it has been revealed. The buildings are unused and are costing ...

Tax burden warning over empty property - 24th October 2007
ic Wales - United Kingdom
OWNERS of empty property in Wales face a massive tax burden thanks to new legislation coming into effect next April, a leading property consultant has ...

VANDALISM ALERT AT EMPTY HOMES - 18th October 2007
This is Nottingham - Nottingham,England,UK
People living near empty homes which become the target for antisocial behaviour are being urged to report them. Broken windows and associated problems can ...

Tesco forced to let? - 18th October 2007
St. Albans Observer - St. Albans,England,UK
By Alex Lewis SUPERMARKET giant Tesco could soon be forced to let tenants move into empty homes it owns in London Road. With the company rethinking its ...

United Kingdom: Pre-Budget Report 2007 - 16th October 2007
Mondaq News Alerts (subcription) - London,UK
There is no mention of the use of SPVs to hold commercial property. Renovations and alterations to residential properties that have been empty for at least ...

Council house sales could raise £1.5m - 16th October 2007
this is hampshire.net - Winchester,England,UK
The council has introduced a new policy this year of selling up to 10 empty homes a year, if each needs maintenance work of more than £8000. ...

EarthLog: If this isn't state bullying, what is? - 11th October 2007
Telegraph, London
Most of us like to think of Britain as a fair country where oppressive things do not happen. Consider then what happened today to a 60-year-old disabled grandmother in the Edge Lane area of Liverpool, who wants nothing more than to go on living in her own home...

Anger at claims of housing 'betrayal' - 11th October 2007
The Argus.co.uk - Brighton,UK
... examining ways to make it easier to build council houses and the Communities and Local Government Department was looking at how to utilise empty homes. ...

Fool News: Government Lends A Helping Hand To Ailing Houses - 10th October 2007
Motley Fool UK - UK
By Szu Ping Chan 10 October 2007 Empty homes in hope of a revamp were given a new lease of life in yesterday's pre-budget report as Alistair Darling ...

Tax break for second home owners- 10th October 2007
Channel 4 News - London,UK
At the same time from next January, second home owners taking on an empty property will see the rate of VAT they are charged on alterations and renovations ...

Pre-Budget: New homes budget up to £10bn for 2010/11 - 10th October 2007
Mortgage Strategy - UK
He has also introduced new measures to bring empty homes back into use, including exploring the effect local authorities can have by making use of their ...

Plans to return empty properties to market - 9th October 2007
AboutProperty.co.uk - London,UK
To encourage more rapid alteration or renovation of empty homes, from January 1st 2008 the reduced rate of five per cent chargeable VAT will be extended to ...

There is a darkness in the city centre - 8th October 2007
Guardian Unlimited - UK
With affordable housing, spiralling mortgages and the misery of first-time buyers a national worry, a vast number of potential homes lie empty, ...

City helps people invest in their homes - 8th October 2007
Liverpool City Council - United Kingdom
Council money will be targeted at reducing the number of empty properties, alleviating cold conditions and eradicating homes that don't meet the ...

Council in hunt for possible building sites - 4th October 2007
Berwick Today - Berwick Upon Tweed,Scotland,
UKBERWICK Borough Council is about to embark on a survey of empty property and land in a bid to find how many sites are available for building homes. ...

Buying property: Old versus new? Those hidden costs - 4th October 2007
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
No one expects a resale property to be as bright as a new pin, but once the previous owners have left, the empty property can reveal its chipped walls and ...

Paying for empty buildings - 3rd October 2007
Bourne Local - Bourne,Lincolnshire,UK
"Some property owners may be concerned about the potential extra cost, but if the new law has the desired effect this is good news for everyone - empty ...

4000 wait for homes while 2000 lie empty - 3rd October 2007
Sunderland Echo - UK
Council chiefs have now decided to act in a bid to bring more of the empty homes back into use. District of Easington council's head of housing, Ian Morris, ...

NEW regulatory changes mean rents look set to rise for North West ... 3rd October 2007 Southport Visiter - Southport,Lancashire,UK
At present, developers quite often leave property empty while they work up development plans. The effect of the new regulations will be that they delay ...

Bulldozers to demolish empty flats in Bartley Green - 3rd October 2007
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
Each property will also receive an electrical test and roof inspection. Where required properties will also benefit from cavity wall and loft insulation ...

Firebugs put lives at risk by torching empty house - 2nd October 2007
ic Coventry - Coventry,UK
A Warwickshire police spokes-woman said: "Although the property is vacant, it adjoins other properties that are occupied and therefore police are treating ...

SECOND HOMES ARE DRIVING OUT LOCALS
NW Evening Mail - Barrow-in-Furness,Lake District,UK
There's also a large part of the year when houses are empty and there's no spending in the local economy. "It obviously has a detrimental effect on both ...

Top ten tips for filing your tax returns - 28th September 2007
Scotsman - United Kingdom
1 Minimise void periods: Empty properties cost money. Attracting quality tenants who treat a property well and stay is key to successful property management ...

Empty offices cost town £10k rent a month - 26th September 2007
NW Evening Mail - Barrow-in-Furness,Lake District,UK
BARROW Borough Council is losing out on £10000-a-month rent from the new Emlyn Hughes House, which stands empty. Since its completion in May, ...

Livingstone gives housing warning to councils - 26th September 2007
Politics.co.uk - London,UK
Mr Livingstone told delegates today he was "ashamed" every time he looked out of his office window at the empty land on the Potter's Field site in south ...

NEW HOMES SALES HALTED - 26th September 2007
Express & Echo - Exeter,England,UK
New homes in Exeter are lying empty as a planning wrangle rages between developers and the city council. Eleven families have been prevented from moving ...

Home-town woes up Nigel's street - 26th September 2007
Manchester Evening News - Manchester,England,UK
This resulted in hundreds of empty homes being boarded up, only to be wrecked by arsonists, or used as drug dens. The city council acquired about 400 ...

Crackdown on number of abandoned empty homes - 25th September 2007
Sunderland Echo - UK
Errant landlords could be forced to sell empty homes left to rack and ruin, it was revealed today. Council chiefs have vowed to use tougher laws after new ...

Homes sale to fund repairs? 25th September 2007
ic SouthLondon.co.uk - United Kingdom
... say it is considering selling some empty properties to developers and housing associations to get money to do up other empty homes across the borough. ...

Mental health centre planned for empty Ulverston building
NW Evening Mail - Barrow-in-Furness,Lake District,UK
... Disabilities Pooled Fund, and followed Department of Health guidance that the first call on any redundant property is alternative health service use. ...

Owners of empty properties told to be extra vigilant - 21st September 2007
Highland News - Inverness,Scotland,UK
The 170-year-old semi-derelict property had been used as a hostel until about a decade ago was being redeveloped by Ewen Gillies builders. ...

Aberdeen City Council scoops award - 21st September 2007
eGov monitor - London,UK
The APSE (Association of Public Service Excellence) recognised Aberdeen City Council in the Best Efficiency Initiative category for its Empty Homes ...

Town Hall homes to go under the hammer as sell-off begins - 20th September 2007
Camden New Journal - London,UK
... identify empty houses that are ripe for sale. The street properties up for grabs are meant to be used to ease the massive waiting list for council homes ...

Buying Vacant Properties - 19th September 2007
TheLondonPaper - London
London is in the grip of such a severe housing crisis that – despite the travails of Tewkesbury and the like – the regional authorities continue to plan new residential developments on flood plains...

Double bills for second homes? - 18th September 2007
Dorset Echo - England,UK
There were too many holiday homes left empty and unoccupied during the winter months and the "seasonal fluctuation had a detrimental effect on local ...

325 empty homes in Congleton Borough - 18th September 2007
Crewe Guardian - Cheshire,UK
By Ian Ross MEMBERS of the public are being asked for their views on plans to bring empty homes back into use. There are 325 homes in Congleton Borough ...

New rates ruling will have opposite effect to that wanted
Cumberland News - Carlisle,Cumbria,UK
"The government has reformed empty property relief in order to provide a strong incentive to bring empty property back into use. This will help to increase ...

Ban all the new homes - 14th September 2007
Halifax Today - UK
According to Calderdale Council planning committee chairman Grenville Horsfall, there are about 2000 empty apartments and 3000 empty houses out of a total ...

'Shocking' number of empty homes - 13th September 2007
icBerkshire - Reading,England,UK
Reading has a total of 1996 empty homes - 567 of them privately owned and empty for longer than six months. One house in Christchurch Road has been empty ...

Boss in fraud trial 'left homes empty' - 11th September 2007
Cambridge Evening News - Cambridge,England,UK
A BOSS accused of tax fraud splashed out on luxury furnishings and fittings for his numerous homes but left them standing empty, a jury heard. ...

Private deal to free up council homes in disarray - 9th Setember 2007
The Argus.co.uk - Brighton,UK
He added: "This will enable more rigorous monitoring and supervision of the empty property process in conjunction with the council. ...

Increase in holiday homes is 'isolating Welsh villages' - 7th September 2007
ic Wales - United Kingdom
The figure is far higher than recently published county figures and have left communities "empty" and "isolated", according to the people who live in them. ...

CBI plea over empty properties - 7th September 2007
ic Wales - United Kingdom
by Sion Barry, Western Mail CBI WALES is calling on the Assembly to resist UK government pressure to remove empty property rate exemptions, a move which it ...

Landlords ''opposed to rates relief changes'' - commercial mortgages - 3rd September 2007 Mortgages for Business - London,UK
The vast majority of retail landlords oppose changes to empty property rates relief tax outlined in this year''s Budget, it has been revealed. ...

Buy-to-let a "mainstream" market - 3rd September 2007
Assetz News - Stockport,Cheshire,UK
One particular accusation leveled at investors is that they buy up stock and then leave it empty for long periods. But if this was the dominant picture, ...

Empty homes , but 26500 people wait for one, claims Tory - 3rd September 2007
Sunderland Echo - UK
This means Sunderland now has more empty public sector homes than any other part of the region. The city also has 653 households that are registered as ...

Housing Act 'clamping down on empty homes' - 31st August 2007
Property News - London,England,UK
The agency has advised that the number of homes that are still empty is falling at a faster rate then before as a result, adding that a particular effort ...

It's time to use empty properties - 30th August 2007
Scotsman - United Kingdom
The number of empty homes can be reduced by offering landlords support to sell their property or bring it back into use by giving them assistance to find ...

Plans for new homes steam in for approval - 30th August 2007
Dorset Echo - England,UK
The vacant and largely overgrown site has lain empty for decades and was at one time safeguarded as a corridor for a controversial Christchurch inner relief ...

Inspectors want to curb Brown's housing targets - 30th August 2007
Daily Mail - UK
Jacqui Lait, Conservative shadow minister for planning, said: "Gordon Brown's empty promise that he would protect the green belt has been exposed to be ...

Empty business premises to pay full rates
Sommerset County Gazette - Taunton,England,UK
A spokeswoman for Taunton Deane Council said the Government had brought in new rules to encourage empty commercial property back into use.

Empty houses into homes - 23rd August 2007
Richmond and Twickenham Times - UK
Richmond upon Thames Council's empty property scheme gives grants to owners of empty homes. The owner then agrees to lease out the property to the council ...

OUR HOUSING CRISIS - 22nd August 2007
Bath Chronicle - Bath,England,UK
"We need to tackle this issue with lots of small measures, freeing up empty property in the city, converting basements. "We don't have much space to expand ...

HUGE TOLL OF SECOND HOMES - 17th August 2007
The Cornishman - Truro,England,UK
The WMN survey has also found there are more than 20000 empty properties across both counties - almost half of which have been empty for more than six ...

Second home tax funds new houses - 17th August 2007
BBC News - UK
Stirling Council is set to raise more than £1m this year after it reduced the council tax discount on second homes and long-term empty properties. ...

Warnings over lack of affordable homes - 16th August 2007
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
This is despite the group warning that in the Greater Norwich area 3900 homes currently stand empty - almost 2.5pc of the housing stock - which it says are ...

South Gloucestershire consultation on empty homes - 13th August 2007
Southern Housing - UK
The council wants to hear from anyone affected by empty homes in their local area, or who has views on the impact of empty homes, or ideas on how they ...

'Why should I pay tax on an uninhabitable home?
'Croydon Guardian - Croydon,England,UK
Suresh Tank has been renovating a property he acquired in April which, he says, entitles him to a six-month council tax exemption because the house is empty ...

MoD will sell off empty flats - 12th August 2007
Watford Observer - Watford,England,UK
Many of the empty homes now have smashed windows and are boarded up, while others are falling into a general state of disrepair with crumbling brickwork. ...

Views sought on empty homes - 10th August 2007
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
The council is keen to hear from anyone affected by empty homes in their local area, or who has views on the impact of empty homes, or ideas on how they ...

Council gets tougher over vacant properties - 8th August 2007
Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph - Kettering,Northamptonshire,UK
Of those privately-owned properties which have remained vacant for more than six months in the Kettering area, more than 50 empty homes have been bought ...

Empty Rental Properties a Suburban Myth? - 7th August 2007
Letting News - UK
... causing the shortage of UK homes and pushing prices up. Only 3% of those surveyed were found to be purposefully leaving their buy-to-let property empty ...

Law to help free houses
Richmond and Twickenham Times - UK
... do anything to the property that its legal owner could. Several attempts were made to contact the owners after it was first reported as empty in 2003. ...

Rat infested property devalues rest of street
Richmond and Twickenham Times - UK
The elderly owner of the empty Devonshire Road property, Mrs Price, who did not want to give her first name, inherited the address from her father. ...

Flats developer to pay £900000 for affordable homes - 7th August 2007
Lancashire Evening Post - Preston,England,UK
Coun Ron Yates, who represents the city centre ward, suggested that money from such schemes could be put into upgrading the "many empty homes" currently in ...

Few buy-to-let investors are not keeping properties empty 6th August 2007
CityWire.co.uk - London,England,UK
Claims that buy-to-let investors are deliberately keeping properties empty have been declared, 'false' by Britain's biggest buy-to-let company. ...

State of empty ex army homes is 'scandalous' 3rd August 2007
Surrey Advertiser - Surrey,England,UK
Annington Homes became the largest private owner of residential property in the UK after buying more than 57000 homes from the MOD in 1996. ...

North London grant scheme to tackle Capital's housing crisis
Islington Council is promoting a new grant scheme designed to make more homes available to rent or buy.

Thousands homeless while Cornish summer homes sit empty
Mortgage Strategy - UK
By Laura Stavro-Beauchamp Thousands of Cornish houses sit empty for most of the year while the number of people waiting for social housing has more than ...

No wonder there's a housing waiting list! 2nd August 2007
Southport Visiter - Southport,Lancashire,UK
by Helen Korn, Skelmersdale Advertister A COMMUNITY stalwart has blasted the council for leaving a house empty even though there is a massive shortage. ...

We'll evict squatters says city council - 1st August 2007
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
A 67-year-old woman living close to the property, said: "This has happened three times now, the council know the property has been empty for two years, ...

Residential Landlord - In brief - 30th July 2007
Residential Landlord - Dartford,UK
Hounslow Council is claiming to be the first local authority in London to secure an empty dwelling management order. It means a run down house in this ...

An end to compulsory purchase? - 27th August 2007
Big Issue - UK
A radical new approach to the regeneration of rundown areas could be tested in urban areas across the north...

DECISION ON DEMOLITION - 27th July 2007
This is Aberdeen - Derby,Scotland,UK
It was proposed the empty homes be demolished to make way for the new scheme. But the regeneration plans were branded as drab, featureless and a throwback ...

How to live in London for (a lot) less
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
Camelot Property source empty buildings awaiting redevelopment, renovation or demolition, make sure they meet safety requirements and then offer them at a ...

New housing paper makes big promises
Green Building Press - Carmarthenshire,Wales,UK
There would also be financial incentives for councils to reclaim empty properties - estimates of numbers of empty houses in the UK vary, but could be as ...

Pressure is building and there is little room for escape - 26th July 2007
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
She has listened to those who have called for the Government to make better use of Britain's 850000 homes that stand empty and to provide money up front ...

End of rate relief on empty plants attacked - 25th July 2007
ic CheshireOnline - UK
The Government hopes the Bill will stop investors sitting on derelict property and speed up the pace or regeneration both in Merseyside and the UK as a ...

Plans for 70000 affordable homes a year unveiled
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
Local councils should "think carefully" about using some of their empty homes powers to bring some of the properties back into use, she added. ...

Everyone is entitled to a stake in the nation's soil and bricks - 24th July 2007
Guardian Unlimited - UK
Cooper will urge councils to use their 2006 powers to stop the buy-to-leave-empty market, where investors find the value grows more by leaving property ...

Yvette Cooper: You Ask The Questions - 23rd July 2007
Independent - London,England,UK
That's why councils need to take tougher action on long-term empty new homes. How will three million new houses contribute to reduce greenhouse omissions? ...

Solving a housing shortage - 23rd July 2007
The Herald - Glasgow,Scotland,UK
To be truly effective, however, this Empty Homes Initiative must be, as the council indicates, one strand in a much wider strategy. ...

Holiday homes plan to tackle shortage of council housing - 22nd July 2007
The Herald - Glasgow,Scotland,UK
Argyll and Bute Council is planning to adopt an Empty Homes Initiative to bring disused homes in need of repair up to standard to allow them to be brought ...

Owners of empty homes under fire - 21st July 2007
Richmond and Twickenham Times - UK
Councillor Mark Bowen, deputy leader of Hounslow Council, said: "Bringing empty homes back into use is a sensible way of making a contribution towards ...

Empty promises
New Statesman - London,England,UK
And it's a contagious delusion, despite the fact that homes for millions already exist. One study of the vast amount of unused or empty property around ...

The crisis in Britain's housing
Socialistworker.co.uk - London,UK
If you include second homes in the figures, then there are at least 680000 empty properties in England. It is the irrationality of the housing market that ...

Why not use the 420000 empty homes to solve the housing crisis?
Times Online - UK
According to the Property finder website, some 420000 homes stand empty in a state of disrepair. Surely these should be part of the solution to our housing ...

'Deliberate dereliction' of empty business premises
Norwich Union Risk Services - Birmingham,West Midlands,UK
Full details of the 'Modernising Empty Property Relief' consultation can be found on the DCLG website - see link above/right.

Government urged to target derelict homes
Mortgage Solutions - UK
Around 420000 dwellings stand empty and in a state of disrepair, according to the most recent research by propertyfinder.com. The number is the equivalent ...

Government launches empty property consultation paper
Mortgage Strategy - UK
The Department for Communities and Local Government says most property owners do not deliberately vandalise their empty property in a bid to avoid rates. ...

£1m contract to restore empty homes
Southport Visiter - Southport,Lancashire,UK
by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post LIVERPOOL builder AW Byrne has won a £1m contract to breathe new life into rows of unoccupied homes in and around ...

Consultation launched to revive empty buildings
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
It will propose ways to tackle rate avoidance, where property owners deliberately vandalise their empty property, by removing thr roof for example. ...

Empty house set to become a home again
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
Charlotte Ward, the council's Empty Property Officer says: "It is in substantial disrepair and the front of the property is very overgrown. ...

'Eyesore' house owner is sought
York Press - York,UK
"If the property is open to trespass, the council will make it secure, but the current empty homes policy is to not use other compulsory purchase orders but ...

Buy to let investors under threat of more taxes
Landlord Expert - London,UK
"We would like to see some sort of new tax on homeowners who keep properties empty. We have to tackle empty homes which are such a waste of a vital resource ...

£400k empty homes plan
Lancashire Evening Telegraph - UK
A major initiative to reduce the number of empty homes in Burnley is continuing with plans to spend £400000 buying up and refurbishing ...

Empty buildings may get new lease of life
Swindon Advertiser - Swindon,Wiltshire,UK
The property developer wanting to work on Swindon's oldest house - the grade II-listed number 17 and 18 in Newport Street,has asked the council for ...

Solving the City's empty homes crisis
Norwich Evening News - UK
The use of new laws giving city council bosses the power to seize the empty homes which blight....

Town Hall ready to sell off its homes in bid to cash in
Camden New Journal - UK
The Town Hall last night (Wednesday) triggered a massive revolt of tenants...

Green Party mayoral candidate hits out at Margaret Hodge
eGov monitor - UK
Responding to Margaret Hodge's comments that established British families should be given...

Residents in limbo over North Cirular plans
Tottenham, Wood Green and Edmonton Journal - UK
A community dogged by plans to revamp the most congested part of the North Circular...

Eco-towns will have a 'devastating impact on environment'
Politics.co.uk
The Green party has strongly attacked Government plansto construct five...

Councils to sell off empty properties for £1
Daily Telegraph - UK
Disused schools and swimming pools could be sold to community groups for as little as....

Empty is not the same as unsold or unwanted
Liverpool Daily Post
Councillors' concers that city centre apartments in Liverpool are standing empty...

Home grants restored for wind turbines
Evening Standard - UK
Thousands of home-owners areto be offered grants of up to £2,500 to install wind turbines and solar panels...

Bills are being paid but there's no-one at home
Hampstead and Highgate Express - UK
Neighbours of a Highgate home are demanding to know why Haringey Council...

Council Tax dodger loses house
24dash.com - Hereford, Herefordshire, UK
Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council has forced the sale of a council tax dodger's house at public auction...

Tax reforms to revitalise town centres
Independent - London, England, UK
No one wants to live or work near an empty property, and it is frankly daft for the state to subsidise is...

Minister concerned at proportion of new homes left empty
Inside Housing - UK
The government has launched a probe into the number of homes being bought up and left empty...

35% of city centre flats are empty
ic Liverpool - Southport,England,UK
UP TO 35% of Liverpool’s new city centre apartments are lying empty, as an already flooded property market struggles to attract buyers, housing market ...

Pretty Vacant
Mirror.co.uk - London,UK
Young families are being squeezed out of the housing market by a new breed of speculators who buy new homes and leave them empty. ...

Hopes for derelict property taken over for affordable housing
Kent News - Kent,UK
After this, the council’s empty property officer used the 1925 Law of Property Act, to force the sale of the house to the Town and Country Housing Group, ...

We're sick of this eyesore
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
Angry neighbours want it to become the next property to be taken over by the city council in its war on empty homes. Last month a house in Churchill Road, ...

Kelly does more harm than the Luftwaffe
Daily Telegraph
Is there a point to Ruth Kelly? Can anyone remember a wise decision the Communities Secretary...

Derelict home seized by councils
Norwich Evening News A city house is to become the first in the country to be seized...

Curtains for empty homes
Sunderland Echo Housing bosses have dreamed up a novel way of sprucing up broken-down homes...

Relief curbed on empty property
The Herald Chancellor Gordon Brown said that he was going to curb tax relief...

Homing in on empty houses
Hunts Post. Empty houses in Huntingdonshire could be taken over to help reduce the number of homeless people...

Council tax discount cut for empty homes
Social Housing Owners of empty homes in Ellesmere Port and Nelson are to lose their council tax discount after 12 months...

Eyesore sold
Maidenhead Advertiser A notorious eyesore that has blighted a residential road...

Rubbish is still blighting the city
Peterborough Evening Telegraph - Peterborough,England,UK
Mr Ray took photos of the empty property and e-mailed them to the council at the beginning of February, voicing his concerns. ...

Council hunts empty homes
Harrow Times - UK
Alternatively, anyone needing help to bring a property back into use can call Nick or email empty.homes@harrow.gov.uk.

Council tax change boosts coffers
This is Wiltshire.co.uk - Swindon,England,UK
Further changes are taking place with regard to the council tax discount for second homes and long-term empty homes. Around £200000 will be generated for ...

Who'd live in a house like this?
Sheffield Today - England,UK
People living next to the mid-terrace house, in Bolsover Street, Firth Park, estimated the property has only been occupied for a total of about 12 months in ...

Historic cottage fit for a family
Norwich Evening News - Norwich,England,UK
An ancient flint cottage which has been standing empty and derelict for years is to provide a home for a family on the city council waiting list. ...

Council: Extra houses will be found
Suffolk Evening Star - Ipswich,England,UK
That is the message from Ipswich Borough Council which has just secured the purchase and sale of a house which has sat empty for two decades. The property ...

Gloom town rats
Hackney Gazette - London,England,UK
... living in Springfield have complained because their street has become overrun with rats living under a mountain of rubbish outside an empty property. ...

Harrogate News
Harrogate Today - UK
“Absolute scandal” – Lib Dem Candidate for Bilton Andy Parks and Coun Morris Lightfoot outside the houses lying empty. (2302073). By Tom Cullimore ...

Laura Kirk takes new housing role
24dash.com - Hereford,Herefordshire,UK
Laura Kirk has been appointed Empty Property Officer for Derbyshire Dales District Council and High Peak Borough Council. ...

Thousands sign petition for affordable homes
Leeds Today - UK
Each month up to 6000 people bid for just 500 empty properties and homes in the most popular areas attract up to 500 expressions of interest. ...

Church to build affordable Dales village homes
Yorkshire Post Today - Leeds,Yorkshire,UK
Dent Parish Council clerk Dr John Ioannou said about 20 per cent of the homes in Dent were now second homes which stood empty for the majority of the year. ...

Pavilion force tenants out of their homes
Indymedia UK - UK
As it does with the empty property in the town centre. On the other hand, it were only too happy to serve a CPO on an empty bungalow that a retired man was ...

Squatters in £450000 home
Mid Devon Star - Devon,UK
According to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 squatting is when someone occupies an empty or abandoned property with the owner's permission, ...'

A quarter of new homes in Leeds standing empty'
Leeds Today - UK
A QUARTER of new homes in construction-crazy Leeds city centre are empty, a new report has revealed. Of 4704 properties built in the last nine years, ...

Holy demolition! It's the end for the Bat Cave
Sunderland Echo - Sunderland,England,UK
The landmark building has been standing empty for at least 15 years and has been persistently targeted by vandals. It has now been bought by building firm ...

Friday and Saturday - important exhibition
Hastings Observer - Hastings,England,UK
Joint working with the Grotbusters, Empty Homes officer and a local Housing Association has helped us to focus our attention on certain streets and areas. ...

Bobbies’ homes all but gone
Express & Star - Wolverhampton,West Midlands,UK
And four were void or empty, while eight were seen as development opportunities. The rest were lived in, states the report. Mr Scott-Lee said: “Occupants of ...

Disused properties to solve housing shortage
NW Evening Mail - Barrow-in-Furness,Lake District,UK
... up to acceptable standards and then let as affordable homes. The council’s existing grants policy involves the owners of private empty dwellings, ...

'Empty house is blighting our lives'
ic CheshireOnline - UK
Tim Hobson, Chester's empty property officer, said a new team of officers had been set up in November to tackle precisely this sort of problem. ...

Family come home to find garage repossessed
Bolton News - Bolton,UK
A Bolton at Home spokesman said: "We understood the garage was an empty property, belonging to the council, and took measures to gain access. ...

Moss Side becomes a property hot-spot
Manchester Evening News - Manchester,England,UK
A Manchester council spokesman said: "The number of empty properties is at an all-time low. It's one of the most popular places for council tenants, ...

SIC to re-let homes quicker
Shetland Times - Lerwick,Scotland,UK
Last year it was the fourth-worst local authority in Scotland at filling empty houses which were in demand. An average delay of 257 days between tenants ...

Distorted empty homes claims ‘cannot be relied on’
Inside Housing - UK
The government is reviewing empty homes guidance because ‘vastly inflated’ council claims about the number of properties they have brought back into use ...

Council's re-letting property fast
Peterborough Evening Telegraph - Peterborough,England,UK
Works team leader Stuart Sheardown said: “Empty properties are vulnerable to vandalism and break-ins. Even though we have taken measures to improve security ...

Bury woman defends her home in the High Court over compulsory purchase order by council -
A woman from Bury is taking her defence of her home to the High Court, in London, in a last stand against her local council who are aiming to flatten her property to make way for new developments which locals claim have yet to be settled.

CPO ISSUED AS COUNCIL TACKLES EMPTY PROPERTIES - St. Helens Council - St. Helens Council has taken ownership of a house in Devon Street which has been empty for years after councils were given more powers to tackle the problems created by empty properties.