Council-owned house for sale with £20k guide price

A house is to be sold at auction with a guide price of £20,000 to £25,000 on the condition that the buyer makes it "habitable" within one year.

The property in Tamworth Street in Tyersal is owned by Bradford Council and is expected to be sold during an online auction on 27 January.

The house needs to be refurbished "to a habitable condition for occupation" within one year, or the council will have the option to buy it back, according to the listing.

Bradford Council has a policy of purchasing long empty properties and selling them on as part of a push to bring empty homes back into use.

It is also one of 19 cash-strapped authorities allowed by the government to sell its assets to cover day-to-day spending, which is usually prohibited.

The sale listing, by Pugh auctions, said: "The property comprises a living room and kitchen-diner to the ground floor, with a bedroom and bathroom to the first floor.

"The property benefits from double-glazing throughout and central heating – it otherwise requires comprehensive renovation."

It said a restriction had been put in place to allow the council to buy the property back if the buy had not renovated the house to "a habitable condition for occupation as a dwelling house within a period of 12 months".

One council-owned plot sold in November for £286,000, more than eight times its guide price of £35,000, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority has said it planned to sell off at least 150 assets in the next few years in an effort to raise about £100m.

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