RAT-INFESTED HOME IS SOLD FOR £47,500
Auction battle for house which has stood empty since 1999
A Rat-infested house which has stood empty for more than 21 years has been sold.
The Normacot Road property first came to the attention of Stoke-on-trent City Council’s empty homes team in 2007 – and they discovered no-one had actually lived there since 1999.
The two-bedroom Normacot terrace was bought earlier this year by the council, using a compulsory purchase order.
Now the authority has sold it at auction for £47,500 through estate agents Butters John Bee.
A spokesman for the agents said: “It had a guide price of £30,000 and a £33,000 reserve, so it is a good result for the council.”
The brochure for the property warned it needed a ‘full renovation throughout’. The property has two reception rooms, a kitchen area and a rear garden.
Neighbours had previously complained about the noise of rats running around the property in the dead of night.
City councillor Carl Edwards, cabinet member for housing, said: “Our housing officers have regularly tried to work with the owner to help to bring the property back into use. “Unfortunately, despite help and advice being provided to the owner, the property remained empty and was deteriorating.
“This was having a negative impact on the area and the local residents.
“We were left with no option but to seek authority from the secretary of state to compulsorily purchase the property to help meet the housing demand within the city, and to prevent the property from causing any further problems to the neighbours.
“The property has been sold at auction with a caveat that the new owner must repair the property within agreed timescales in order to bring it back into use.
“We hope this will give the neighbourhood a positive boost and reassure residents regarding the future of the property.”
Normacot Residents’ Association has welcomed the sale.
Member Barrie Harrington, left, said: “The house is just the other side of the tracks on the A50 to most of Normacot, but it is in a very rundown area of the city.
“It sold for a surprising amount, but it is good to see the council taking action.
“It is in an often overlooked part of Stoke-on-trent, but hopefully the house can be brought back into use. It could start a bit of a revival.”