Case study – A previous empty home meeting urgent housing need

A property had been empty for 9 years as the owner had inherited the property from a relative and did not have the capacity to deal with it due to health vulnerabilities. 

The EHO and Council Tax approached the case sensitively and helped the owner consider options to bring the property back into use. After talking the options through the owner decided that the Council’s Open Market Purchase Scheme was the best option and opted to proceed with this option. The property required extensive work to bring it up to the Council’s letting standard. The owner was very grateful for the support they received. 

The purchase of the property helped increase local housing supply and contributed to urgent housing need with the new tenant being a homeless priority applicant.