7/9/2024

Hartlepool Borough Council will consider taking a ‘more aggressive’ approach to tackling derelict buildings and land in the area.

10/16/2020

Councils in Wales will be allowed to compulsory purchase empty houses and vacant land under new planning rules.

11/15/2019

A major union has called for councils to be allowed to take over empty properties to house people on waiting lists.

5/2/2019

Local authorities should support community-based neighbourhood regeneration approaches to help bring empty homes back into use.

4/5/2019

An investigation into empty homes in Scotland and how they can be brought back into use is to be conducted by MSPs.

3/28/2019

Danny Curran says the Government is sitting on hundreds of empty dwellings while leaving local councils with the bill of maintenance.

10/23/2018

Tiffany Cloynes examines some of the legal issues with moving social housing tenants into empty private homes, as proposed by one London council.

10/9/2018

The MoD has been accused of denying families a home after leaving dozens of houses unoccupied and falling into disrepair.

7/18/2018

Council leaders have called for the power to double the amount of council tax on homes that have been left empty between two and five years.

3/28/2018

Councils will be allowed to double the rate of council tax on long-term empty properties under new legislation announced today.

1/2/2018

More than 11,000 homes have stood empty for at least 10 years, according to new research by the Liberal Democrats.

10/13/2017

A local partnership including Sunderland council has launched a £1m project to improve rented housing in part of the city and bring more empty properties back into use as family homes.

6/21/2017

Norfolk County Council is set to turn empty properties into homes for care leavers in a bid to improve services for vulnerable young people.

4/27/2017

Local authorities are holding onto over 23,000 vacant residential properties - an average of 87 per council - new research reveals.

1/18/2017

Councils in London own 22,000 empty garages that could be freed up to deliver at least 16,000 homes, according to new research.

10/3/2016

Homes left empty long-term in Newport would be taxed at double the normal rate under plans being considered by the city council.

2/3/2016

Councils will be forced to publish details of any buildings that have stood empty for longer than two years, under plans to reduce the number of public surplus assets.

1/26/2016

A new report has set out how co-housing can ‘move from the margins to the mainstream’ to make high quality, sustainable and affordable developments the norm.

11/16/2015

Manchester City Council is opening up empty buildings for rough sleepers to use overnight as part of a campaign to create more bed spaces across the city.

11/2/2015

Manchester City Council is exploring the idea of opening up empty public buildings to the homeless.

9/28/2015

Politicians in Ireland have demanded the country’s 2,600 empty local authority homes are put to use to tackle the ‘growing housing emergency’.

6/23/2015

Bournemouth Council is launching a new company to enable it to buy homes and rent them out to homeless people.

4/30/2015

Councils should be allowed to decide their own taxes and funding scheme for empty homes, under plans published by think tank IPPR North.

4/27/2015

Labour has vowed to give first time buyers priority for new housing and raise council tax on empty properties if it takes power in May.

4/16/2015

The majority of the public believe councils should do more to bring empty homes back into use rather than building new houses, according to new research.

4/14/2015

The Green Party has vowed to launch new council tax bands for larger properties and remove caps on rises for local authorities.

4/13/2015

Labour has today pledged to target devolution, wage rises and protection of public services, among a range of fully funded manifesto commitments.

3/27/2015

Liverpool is extending its ?Homes for a Pound? scheme following a successful pilot, and is also exploring the possibility of including empty shops in the initiative.

3/10/2015

The Government’s Vacant Building Credit could reduce affordable housing provision by up to a third, council analysis is claiming.

1/30/2015

Home owners who leave properties empty and neglected will be served with a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), under plans announced by Haringey Council.

12/5/2014

New homeowners in a London borough could be forced to keep their properties occupied, in landmark proposals to tackle ‘buy-to-leave’.

12/1/2014

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the general public would like their local council to prioritise bringing empty homes back into use, according to a new survey.

5/7/2014

Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged to tackle wealthy investors hoarding empty homes by rolling out greater council tax premiums.

3/10/2014

The number of empty homes in England has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded, according to new figures published today.