Council Seizes Empty Properties In Bid To Tackle Homelessness

Birmingham city council has seized seven houses from their owners – because they have been empty for more than 10 years. The unkempt buildings were described by the council as “eyesore properties”. It was announced that all of the property owners were served with Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) – meaning the authority can exercise ‘enforcement powers to get the properties brought back into use as family homes’. The seized homes will now be sold as leasehold at auction, with the provision that the new owners bring them back into use within a year. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-seizes-empty-properties-in-bid-to-tackle-homelessness/

Councils Spend Near £500m On Temporary Accommodation

24housing’s exclusive FoI sample of council spending on temporary accommodation exposes an eye-watering £487,712, 733 paid out over the past year. The bulk of that total covered costs in London where Newham Council topped the chart on £61,069,621. But where London boroughs – with a handful of exceptions – were well up into eight figures, councils sampled beyond the capital hovered around lower sevens at most. However, Birmingham City Council – which responded outside of the sample’s timeline – spent £18,648,890 on PRS accommodation over 2017 and has had to commit some £63m from reserves to balance its budget. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/councils-spend-near-500m-on-temporary-accommodation/

Major Cities Falling Short On Right To Buy Replacements

Major city councils are failing to replace homes sold through the Right to Buy since the government introduced a larger discount for tenants. Birmingham City Council has the largest shortfall between homes sold through the Right to Buy and replacements either acquired or built, with only 253 homes replaced against sales of 2,627 homes since 2012/13 when the government increased the discount council tenants could get when buying their home through the Right to Buy. Read more on Inside Housing.

Birmingham Presses Ahead With Radical CPO Policy

Birmingham City Council will push ahead with its controversial policy of seizing undeveloped land from developers, despite a call-in by opposition councillors. The proposed policy, under which the council would use compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) against developers and owners of empty homes, is intended to serve as a threat to ensure swift development. The plan was in doubt after Conservative councillors asked for it to be called in and a scrutiny committee voted to amend the policy. However, at a cabinet meeting, Labour councillors voted for the policy to be passed in its original form. The plan is unusual as CPOs are more commonly used to acquire occupied land for regeneration schemes, rather than to seize undeveloped land. Read more on Inside Housing.

Council House Sales In England Back To Pre-Recession Levels

The number of council homes in England sold under the right to buy scheme has more than doubled in two years. The latest figures show sales are now above what they were in 2007, before the financial crisis that triggered the recession. CLG statistics revealed 12,304 sales under right to buy in 2014-15, compared with 5,944 in 2012-13. Housing charity Shelter said the homes were not being replaced by councils. Birmingham City Council sold 517 homes, the most in the last financial year. Read more on the BBC website.

New Scheme to Help Rough Sleepers

A scheme which aims to avoid putting homeless people in custody has been launched in Birmingham. A plain clothes police officer and two outreach workers respond to reports of homelessness, begging and anti-social drinking in the city centre. The team, including a substance abuse specialist, operates between 09:00 BST and 21:00 from Monday to Friday. The service was launched by West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and homeless support agencies. West Midlands Police said the scheme might be rolled out to other cities and towns in the force's area. Read more on the BBC website.

Innovative House-Building Scheme Takes Next Step

An innovative house-building scheme has taken a major step forward as Birmingham City Council submitted the planning application for its first purpose-built private rented sector residential scheme. Named Embankment, the scheme aims to set a new standard for private rented accommodation and encourage other providers to follow suit.  A wholly-owned company has already been set up following cabinet approval in December 2014, which will develop the site in the city centre. The scheme supports the Birmingham Development Plan which sets out the need to provide at least 80,000 new homes by 2031, and it is anticipated that some 62 per cent of these will be in the private sector. Read more on the Birmingham City Council website.