Town hall threat to seize empty homes
Author: Daily Mail |
Anyone who leaves their house empty for six months or more should face the threat of losing it, ministers said yesterday.
They told town halls to pressure homeowners to sell up or rent out homes where no one is living.
Those who fail to get a house occupied before the deadline risk having it seized by their local authority and used to house council tenants.
The campaign to force homeowners to dispose of empty houses was launched by housing minister Margaret Beckett, who said the slowdown in construction of homes means empty ones must be used.