Glass half empty - TheMoveChannel.co.uk

March 12, 2009 - PRLog -- If your elderly parent has just died and you are dithering about what to do with their house, or you have moved out of your home and are trying to sell it during the current recession – don’t delay too long. New legislation from the UK Government has announced that anyone who leaves their house empty for six months or more could have it removed by the state and rented to tenants…

As the numbers of new houses being built has slowed dramatically since the credit crunch hit, this forcible removal of empty properties in the UK could become an even more common phenomenon.

There are currently nearly 300,000 privately-owned homes that have been empty for six months or more and many of them are a blight on neighbourhoods, with some attracting squatters.

The Government is now asking local councils to pressure homeowners to sell up or rent out properties where no one is living, in order to limit the number of homes sitting empty and provide much needed accommodation.

Those owners who fail to get a house occupied before the deadline risk having it seized by their local authority and used to house council tenants.

Empty Home Dwelling Orders were first introduced three years ago by John Prescott and so far have been used only 20 times. They allow local councils to take over the management, but not the ownership, of a property.

Now that the need for homes is higher than ever, Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said, “I believe that with an increased focus and more consistent approach, we can bring even more homes back into use.

“With house building slowing in the current challenging economic climate, that is more important than ever,” she added.

Properties that are used as holiday homes or those owned by people who are now living in care homes or by a member of the armed forces, cannot be seized under the new rules.

But if an owner has no legally-approved excuse for keeping a home empty, councils can demand it be put on the market or filled with tenants. Otherwise they can take control and let it out to their own council tenants.

The rent from the forced seizure will be given to the owner of the property after the council has deducted a share to cover their costs.

For more information on UK property and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.co.uk/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.co.uk
0207 952 7650

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TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.