Give Councils Tougher Compulsory Purchase Powers to Stop the Rot Over Empty Homes

Empty homes are being left to rot because councils face overly complex and expensive Compulsory Purchase legislation, says the Local Government Association (LGA).  According to Government statistics, there are over 700,000 empty properties in England alone. About a third of these have been empty for six months or more. Bringing them back into use would account for around two and a half years of new build homes at the current rate of housing completions. Yet the most recent figures show less than 100 planning and housing CPOs were submitted in a year. Some properties have lain empty for a decade or more. The current system, says the LGA, is a costly, overly complex and bureaucratic process that in some cases can take up to 18 months to carry out. Councils even have to seek Secretary of State Approval for a CPO on a long-term empty property. Read more on the LGA website.