By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Eighty-three Rushcliffe houses which had been empty for months or years have been brought back into use under a council scheme.
Rushcliffe Borough Council has been using stricter enforcement options to target vacant properties causing problems in communities.
A total of 498 homes in the borough are classed as long-term empty, having been vacant for more than six months.
The council says this can lead to anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and lower high prices in the neighbourhood.
It will update its strategy for dealing with empty homes later this month, with a goal of ten reopening houses annually.
“A single empty home can blight a street or community, reduce surrounding property values and be a catalyst for nuisance to local residents,” a council report says.
“Empty homes can also attract vandalism, fly-tipping and other criminal activity, ranging from the minor to the extremely serious, but all increasing crime and the fear of crime as well as having a detrimental impact on the local community.
“Since the adoption of the Empty Homes Strategy in 2019, 83 long-term and problematic empty homes that would have otherwise remained empty indefinitely, have been brought back into use involving the active intervention and or enforcement by the local authority.”
Compulsory Purchase Orders, enforced sales and Empty Dwelling Management Orders are among the tools being used to intervene with nuisance and empty homes.
The updated five-year strategy will support owners in overcoming problems such as financial pressures and legal delays, but will also take legal action against homes which are causing problems.
The authority currently has a priority list of 48 homes where there have been complaints, referrals or health and safety concerns.
Private individuals own the majority of the borough’s long-term empty homes (354), and many of the 190 registered second homes are believed to be long-term empty.
The report will come before Cabinet on Tuesday, May 14.
