Council Agrees To Sell Homes for £1

An innovative housing programme which will see empty homes renovated and brought back into use is expected to be rolled out across Stoke-on-Trent. The £3m scheme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, will see a cluster of 35 council owned empty homes sold with the benefit of a loan to make essential repairs. The full cost of each house will be an up to £30,000 loan to carry out work to bring the house up to the decent home standard plus a £1 to buy the property. The target customers are working families who already live and work in Stoke-on-Trent for a certain period of time and are on low income and struggled to get a mortgage. In addition to loans of up to £30,000 there will also be additional funding made available to private landlords of empty homes in these areas to bring their properties back to a decent living standard.  Read more on the Stoke on Trent council website.