propertytalk Live! - Housing boost with new lease and repair scheme

propertytalk Live! - Housing boost with new lease and repair scheme

Housing in Birmingham is set for a £4.3 million boost, with an innovative new scheme to bring 190 empty homes back into use as affordable housing.
Birmingham City Council has been awarded £3.22 million from the ‘Empty Homes programme’ and will provide a further £1.14 million to boost the programme and bring the homes back into use by April 2015.
A report to Cabinet next Monday (30 July) outlines an innovative scheme whereby owners of properties that have been empty for more than six months will be invited to lease their homes to the Council for up to ten years. In return, they will have their property repaired and maintained until the lease expires.
Owners, who often struggle to meet the cost of repairs, will also receive a monthly income from the City Council, which will depend on the cost of the refurbishment required.
The properties will be let to families on the City Council’s housing waiting list who may be at risk of homelessness or living in overcrowded conditions. Many will have experienced a long wait for housing.