Council tackles empty houses to help families

Families languishing on the council house waiting list can take some heart from Bristol City Council’s plans to clamp down on empty properties in the city.

It can take a family years of waiting until a council property becomes available and there are currently more than 12,000 people on the Bristol waiting list.

The council are keen to make use of the 7,000 empty properties in the city, of which 1,800 are long-term empty.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Service Improvement, Councillor Mark Wright said: “It’s totally disgraceful that homes lie empty while there are so many families without a proper home. Property owners have a social responsibility to put empty properties to use as quickly as possible.

“I am confident that our combined approach of offering better advice and help to property owners, while also getting tougher with those who are uncooperative, will see a reduction in the number of empty properties over the next year.”

Long term empty properties do not have to be Council Taxed after being vacant and in a ‘not-quite-finished state’ after six months.

Mark Wright adds: “This is very unwelcome behaviour, and the council will be taking action to persuade such developers to finish these homes properly and put them to good use.”

An Empty Property Summit held in Bristol last month, brought together key agencies to help bring empty properties back into use.

The council will also start to actively pursue the Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) to bring properties back into use through a private agents.