Council to Take On Empty Homes in £4.3m Scheme

Birmingham is set to approve a £4.3 million scheme to lease 190 empty houses from their owners and rent them out as affordable homes. The council would take on properties that have been vacant for more than six months, bring them up to an acceptable standard, then rent them out for up to 10 years before returning them to their owners.  The homes would be let at ‘affordable’ rent levels of up to 80 per cent of market rate, and the owners would receive a monthly payment from the council depending on the amount of work required. The scheme would be funded by £3.22 million from the HCA’s empty homes programme, and £1.14 million from the council. Birmingham intends to use rents to recover its investment and set up a ‘sustainable fund for empty homes’.  Read more on Inside Housing.