Latest Empty Property News 2008
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December 2008
One in five waterfront homes unoccupied - 31st December 2008
Ipswich Evening Star - Ipswich,England,UK
It has also emerged that across all Waterfront wards there are more empty homes (20pc) than owner-occupied properties (18pc). Out of the remaining homes, ...
Southend Council to force owners of empty homes to bring them into use - 30th December 2008
Essex Echo - Basildon,Essex,UK
EMPTY homes in Southend are to be brought back into use as soon as possible using new powers. The Government’s empty dwelling management orders scheme is to ...
Empty Homes Back on Market in Record Time - 23rd December 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
The process saw the introduction of challenging timescales which were met by an almost immediate start on empty homes. Changes to the way materials were ...
Government urged to use empty homes - 21st December 2008
The Press Association
The Government was urged to take action to bring more than three-quarters of a million empty homes back into use. The Royal Institution of Chartered ...
Business: Boris Could Be Good For Builders In The Capital - 20th December 2008
boyexx.blogspot.com
He also wants the 84000 empty homes in London to be renovated and brought back into use - so plenty of work for electricians, plumbers, decorators, plasterers and other trades. Mayor Johnson has a policy of "designing out crime". ...
WALTHAM ABBEY: Shabby shop driving out trade - 19th December 2008
Epping Forest Guardian - UK
Epping Forest District Council formally agreed in July 2006 to make a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the property to end the problem, but at Monday’s ...
'Creative solutions' work for derelict property - 18th December 2008
Yourthanet - England, UK
However, knowing that this would take a couple of years to do, the council’s empty property officer suggested that a different approach be tried and the ...
Will the UK government's plan to buy empty homes work? - 15th December 2008
FinancialAdvice.co.uk - London,UK
In a scheme which is set to cost the taxpayer around £400 million it has been announced that the UK government will offer interest-free loans to first-time ...
Empty homes bought by the Government - 15th December 2008
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
First-time buyers will be eligible for interest-free loans to help buy empty homes which developers have struggled to sell, the Government has announced. ...
Pennine pledge after 'empties' rate change - 12th December 2008
Halifax Evening Courier - UK
Conservative leader Stephen Baines (Northowram and Shelf) said one in 10 of the 2700 empty homes in Calderdale was owned by social landlords who would have ...
£30000 available to revamp homes - 8th December 2008
NW Evening Mail - Barrow-in-Furness,England,UK
... housing up to “decent homes” standards, a benchmark set by government. An empty property is classed as any house that has been empty for six months or more.
Council sells empty homes - 6th December 2008
The Star - Sheffield,England,UK
By Staff Copy DERBYSHIRE Dales District Council is auctioning two properties to raise cash after admitting it is feeling the pinch. ...
Empty homes plummet - 5th December 2008
Camden New Journal - London,UK
... Angel, lay empty for several years before being converted into five homes with the help of a council-awarded empty property grant to Star Estates. ...
Empty council home outrage - 3rd December 2008
Islington Gazette - London,England,UK
Councillor Catherine West (Labour) said: "Any empty property in Islington is unacceptable and this isn't good enough from the Lib-Dems. ...
Empty homes yet greenbelt is eyed for new building - 3rd December 2008
Halifax Evening Courier - UK
This is all rather ironic since Calderdale currently has a huge surplus of empty homes, with hundreds of flats lying idle and To Let signs going up all over ...
Tackling 'wasted' empty homes problem - 3rd December 2008
Bridgwater Mercury - Bridgwater,England,UK
By Alex Cameron » NEW plans have been put in place in a bid to fill the ‘wasted’ 400 empty homes in the Sedgemoor area. Last week, Sedgemoor District ...
Empty promises - 2nd December 2008
Inside Housing - UK
The investment has succeeded in reducing the number of empty homes, and a recent street survey estimated that only 500 of the borough’s 3000 empty homes had ...
Probe finds 223 empty Southend Council homes in town - 2nd December 2008
Essex Echo - Basildon,Essex,UK
The majority of the empty council homes are currently undergoing building work or repairs before they can be let. Mark Flewitt, Southend councillor ...
Call to put Wales' 24000 empty homes to use - 2nd December 2008
Daily Post - Llandudno Junction,UK
Councils have certain powers to force empty homes into use. Now they are being helped by a new project in Wales, which is providing advice to assist them in ...
Facelifts for 102 terraced houses in Burnley - 1st December 2008
Lancashire Telegraph - Blackburn,England,UK
Councillors are poised to approve plans for the latest part of the scheme, dubbed the Empty Homes Strategy, at a meeting of the executive on December 8. ...
November 2008
Empty houses: Owners to benefit from U-turn? - 30th November 2008
Lynn News - King's Lynn,UK
By Louise Brain OWNERS of empty homes look set to benefit from half-price council tax once again in a planned U-turn on discount cuts. ...
Coast: Empty homes tax break scrapped - 28th November 2008
The Gazette - Colchester,Essex,UK
By James Dwan » COUNCIL tax discounts for empty homes could be scrapped to tackle Tendring’s housing shortage. Tendring Council has given second homes and ...
New move to fill empty properties - 28th November 2008
Burton Mail - Burton on Trent,England,UK
"We urge everyone who has an empty property in South Derbyshire to include its details in our list." A hotline enabling residents to report empty properties ...
Council's mortgage lifeline - 27th November 2008
The Star - Sheffield,England,UK
It includes filling the borough's 4100 empty houses and forcing the sale of some empty homes. The council is also considering bringing in a licensing scheme ...
Empty Properties To Get Makeover - 27th November 2008
Haringey Independent - UK
Fifty of the borough’s most run-down houses are to be brought back on the market by Haringey Council.
NO USE EMPTY AWARDS £1 MILLION TO RENOVATE DERELICT PROPERTIES IN KENT - 24th November 2008
No-Use Empty Property Initiative
No Use Empty, the initiative which is helping to bring empty properties in East Kent back into use, has approved over £1 million of interest-free loans to home owners across the County. These loans have helped the owners to renovate almost 100 empty properties in two districts...
Boris Johnson must abandon his 'boom and bust' approach to ... - 22nd November 2008
guardian.co.uk - UK
There are some good points, including the intention to spend £60m on bringing back long-term empty homes into residential use. There are a scandalous number ...
Council outcry at housing figures - 22nd November 2008
Northumberland Gazette - UK
Commenting on the findings, Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "It is concerning that the existence of empty homes remains a significant ...
Council tackles empty property homes eyesore - 21st November 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Executive member for housing, Andrew Baikie said: "The council has taken a tough approach to reducing the number of empty homes in Newham, providing more ...
Unused Stockton houses given new life - 21st November 2008
GazetteLive - Middlesbrough,UK
A MUM-OF-FOUR is one of the first to benefit from a Teesside council’s efforts to bring empty homes back into use. Stockton borough has around 2000 empty ...
Rundown homes to be renovated for housing body - 19th November 2008
Portsmouth News - Portsmouth,England,UK
By Chris Broom A ROW of rundown and vandalised homes are to be given a new lease of life as part of a scheme to regenerate empty properties. ...
Housing bosses 'buy up' derelict houses - 19th November 2008
St Helens Today - St Helens,UK
"The reoccupation of long-term empty properties throughout the Borough is essential to provide good quality affordable housing for our residents. ...
Council To Introduce Bidding For Homes - 19th November 2008
eGov monitor - London,UK
Empty homes will be advertised in a free newssheet available in most libraries in the Borough, at Council offices and on the Kent Homechoice website. ...
Empty homes to be tranformed to fill housing shortage - 18th November 2008
Northern Echo - Darlington,England,UK
He said: "Empty properties can not only be an eyesore to an area, but they can attract anti-social behaviour. "The council’s empty property team can work ...
homeowners warned over leaving properties empty - 17th November 2008
Bournemouth Daily Echo - England, UK
By Melanie Vass » PROPERTY owners who let homes sit empty are being warned they could be hit with expensive enforcement action. ...
'We need empty houses,' says councillor - 14th November 2008
Halifax Evening Courier - UK
By Michael Peel IF council leaders refuse to slash the tax discount on empty homes, they must find other means to bring empty properties into use, ...
Empty care homes beds are costing tax-payers £900k a year - 13th November 2008
Derby Evening Telegraph - Derby,England,UK
EMPTY beds in Derby care homes are wasting nearly a million pounds a year of tax-payers' money, according to a report. In the city's eight council-run homes ...
Action demanded over New Addington's "enchanted garden" - 13th November 2008
Croydon Advertiser - UK
A spokesman for Croydon Council said: "We were made aware of an empty property in Aldrich Crescent in 2006 and have been working with the owner to return it ...
Loan scheme launched to refill 400 empty homes - 12th November 2008
Maidenhead Advertiser - Maidenhead,England,UK
The Royal Borough is launching the scheme, in time for National Empty Homes Week at the beginning to December, to bring housing back into habitable use by ...
Council urged to take over brewery site - 10th November 2008
Southern Daily Echo - Southampton,England,UK
Former town mayor Mark Cooper and Sally Lamb have asked Test Valley’s officers to look at the possibility of slapping a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on ...
Council given go-ahead for compulsory purchase orders on six Derby ... - 8th November 2008
Derby Evening Telegraph - Derby,England,UK
... compulsory purchase orders, as in these cases." The council's empty homes strategy is supported by funding from the Government Office for the East Midlands.
Squatters take over £6m Mayfair house - 8th November 2008
Independent - London,England,UK
An empty two-bedroom flat near the anarchist squat is up for sale for an asking price of £1.65m. A City law firm has been engaged by the official tenants, ...
Empty properties are a wasted resources says property investment ... - 7th November 2008
Residential Landlord - Dartford,UK
... which runs property investment courses for professionals, because the company claims 3.2 per cent of British homes are currently deemed as Empty Housing ...
Crackdown on derelict homes problem - 5th November 2008
Morpeth Herald - Morpeth,England,UK
The Empty Homes Strategy has been drawn up by Castle Morpeth Council to crack down on the nuisance of long-term vacant properties, which can become a magnet ...
Fewer empty homes in England - 5th November 2008
Residential Landlord - Dartford,UK
An Empty home is defined as a property that has been vacant for more than six months. Public vacant dwellings cover vacancies over all timeframes, ...
Grant hope for empty homes - 5th November 2008
Ipswich Evening Star - Ipswich,England,UK
AUTHORITIES across Suffolk are hoping to receive a £500000 government boost to bring empty homes back into use. Mid Suffolk Council, in partnership with ...
Tax clue to empty homes - 5th November 2008
Liverpool Echo - UK
ACCORDING to research from Halifax, the number of empty homes in England has fallen by nearly a tenth. In April 2007, there were 279281 empty private ...
Empty properties persist as new homes for sale levels stall - 5th November 2008
Off Plan Property Exchange - Derby,England,UK
England still has a glut of empty homes, with derelict properties particularly prevalent in the north of the country, a survey shows. ...
Buy-up solution for housing shortage? - 4th November 2008
Hartlepool Today - UK
COUNCIL chiefs may buy empty homes and sell or rent them in a bid to tackle the chronic housing shortage. In Hartlepool, nearly 1500 private properties are ...
250000 English homes 'empty' - 4th November 2008
Money Magic Mortgage News - Leeds,England,UK
Empty homes in 17 local authorities account for more than three per cent of total English housing stock. The majority of the 17 council''s with a higher ...
Battle to cut home targets
Western Morning News - Plymouth,England,UK
The committee also calls on the Government to investigate the potential of redeveloping empty buildings to create up to 1.2 million new homes. ...
Empty homes 'decreasing in number' - 3rd November 2008
FinancialAdvice.co.uk - London,UK
A report from the lender revealed that there has been a nine per cent drop in empty homes in the last five years. Despite this, more than three per cent of ...
Quarter of a million properties in England lie empty
Choices - Sutton,Surrey,UK
The fifth annual Halifax survey of Empty Homes in England has revealed that there are more than a quarter of a million empty properties in the country. ...
Empty homes data released by lender
London Stock Exchange - London,England,UK
Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, commented: "It is highly encouraging that the number of private empty homes in England has declined by nearly a ...
Bank calls for 'reduced tax' on empty homes
Houseladder - Kingston upon Thames,England,UK
The government has been called upon to reduce the amount of tax paid for renovating empty homes. According to Halifax, there were 279281 empty homes across ...
Why Burnley still burns bright for UK property investors
Property Secrets (subscription) - Crewe,Cheshire,UK
The Council has already reduced the volume of empty homes in specific neighbourhoods and has bought-up, done-up and sold-on many of them. ...
Tax cut urged to reduce number of empty homes
24dash - Hereford,UK
Halifax, which is part of the HBOS group, would like the Government to extend the 5% rate of VAT for restoring an empty home to all properties vacant for ...
Halifax calls for VAT cut on empty homes
Mortgage Strategy - UK
Halifax is calling for the government to extend its 5% VAT rate for renovating an empty home to all unoccupied properties not just those that have been ...
Halifax calls for lower VAT on empty homes
FT Adviser - London,UK
The number of private empty homes in England has declined by a tenth over the last four years, according to an annual survey from the Halifax. ...
From country estate to housing estate - 2nd November 2008
Times Online - UK
In that case, the organisation preferred the government to exercise compulsory purchase powers rather than allow a private developer to restore the building ...
Scandal of empty council properties
WalesOnline - United Kingdom
Empty homes are a wasted resource. They could be providing homes for families in Wales. “Any properties sitting empty for a significant amount of time are ...
Houses are left empty
expressandstar.com - Wolverhampton,England,UK
He said: “The problem with empty homes in Walsall is in the social housing sector. We are taking action and reviewing the amount of empty housing stock in ...
Giving Empty Homes a Fresh Start - 1st November 2008
Loughborough News - Loughborough,England,UK
A UNIQUE free service which aims to give a fresh start to long-term empty homes has its first property for sale. Charnwood Borough Council is the first ...
Credit crunch spreads to wealthiest areas
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
Latest research shows that a quarter of a million private homes are standing empty. Almost 280000 homes are in disrepair or have been left empty for more ...
Thousands of homes empty
Shropshire Star - Telford,England,UK
Based on data from the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) and its own database, Halifax has found there were 279281 empty private homes in ...