Council seizes empty properties from owners to sell them on

BIRMINGHAM City Council has seized seven houses from their owners after they were left vacant for more than 10 years.

The buildings in across Handsworth, Selly Oak, Acocks Green, Kings Heath, Kitts Green, Bromford and Sutton Coldfield were described by the council as ‘eyesore properties’.

All the owners of the houses were served with compulsory purchase orders (CPO) by a specialist council team last week.

It means 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.

Birmingham is in the grip of

a housing shortage and the council’s private sector empty property team works with owners to understand why the houses are lying empty and how to bring them back into use.

Where this fails, as last resort, the council considers the use of CPO powers.

Julie Griffin, acting director for housing at Birmingham City Council said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get control of these seven houses. In the middle of a national housing crisis and with families falling into homelessness, there shouldn’t be any empty properties in the city. These are much needed homes that have been left abandoned and neglected by the owners, which is completely unacceptable.

“Empty homes like these are a magnet for crimes that can range from fly-tipping to anti-social behaviour as well as devaluing other houses in their local communities.

“The neighbours of these homes have had to suffer the worry and anxiety that living adjacent to these eyesore properties has caused.

“It’s crucial we fight this campaign to bring homes back into use and we’ll do all we can to support residents who report properties.”