More than 300 empty homes brought back into use

More than 300 privately owned properties that for years stood empty in Wolverhampton have been transformed.

City of Wolverhampton Council's Empty Property Strategy has seen 347 unoccupied homes, often in poor condition, brought back into use over the last five years.

The local authority said it aimed for the properties to be sold to new owners or rented to private tenants, rather than become a blight on neighbourhoods.

Specialist housing improvement officers from the council's private sector housing team have worked with the owners of long-empty properties to encourage them to carry out works and get homes occupied. If necessary, the council can use enforcement action to ensure this work takes place.

The council said it also offered up to £500 towards legal and/or marketing fees to encourage more owners of empty properties to sell on the open market.

Councillor Steve Evans said: "Our action on privately-owned empty homes is the equivalent of us building hundreds of new houses across the city - providing more affordable housing for residents in Wolverhampton.

"The properties we have become involved with have often stood empty for many years, sometimes because there are no relatives to inherit or they cannot be traced, and, as a result, the condition of the property has deteriorated dramatically.

"We are putting these houses back on the market – either to sell or rent – and this in turn is also having a positive effect on the communities they are in, with local shops and services benefiting from new residents occupying the houses – providing a significant boost to the local economy."

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