Loss of Commission Could Harm Empty Homes

The scrapping of the Audit Commission will lead to fewer councils tackling empty homes, a consultant has warned. David Gibbens, policy lead at the Empty Homes Network, told attendees at the Chartered Institute of Housing Other Housing Event that the commission’s power had previously pushed authorities into action. Mr Gibbens said: ‘The abolition of the Audit Commission is a bit of a problem for tackling empty homes because a lot of local authorities only did stuff with empty homes because the Audit Commission was quite strong on empty homes. That was frightening enough to make them do things, now it’s gone there is not really anything to replace it.’ Read more on Inside Housing.