Homes crackdown bears fruit

Dec 29 2009 by Jane Tyler, Birmingham Mail

THOUSANDS fewer homes in Birmingham are lying empty after a crackdown by the city council.

Six years ago there were 14,000 empty properties in the city, but now the figure has fallen to just under 9,000.

All are homes or large properties which are owned privately, but are neither occupied or for sale and are lying unused and in many cases falling into disrepair.

The city council set up a team specifically to deal with the problem and set itself a goal of returning most – but preferably all – of the properties back into use by 2012.

Councillors were told that Birmingham was now considered such a success story that the BBC was featuring it in a documentary on empty homes and other councils were visiting to see the team’s work first hand.

Empty homes officer Matthew Smith told councillors: “These empty properties cause crime in the streets and anti social behaviour.”

Mr Smith said although they were pleased with their success, they were not resting on their laurels. “Nine thousand homes is still far too many, even in a big city like Birmingham,” he said.

Measures taken, he said, included enforced sales where the owners were legally obliged to sell the homes at auction, and Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs), which were the last resort.

“We try to put our arms around the owners’ shoulders before putting our hands around their necks,” he said.

The council is currently in the process of serving 40 CPOs.

Another option being explored being explored is Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) where the council took management control of a property and put tenants in, rather than selling it. “Along with almost every local authority, Birmingham has not yet completed an EDMO as the process has proved more difficult in practice than has been anticipated,” Mr Smith told councillors.

He said the next priority for the team was getting more larger family homes of three bedrooms or more back into use.

Councillors praised the team’s work but said it should do more.

Coun Mike Leddy (Lab, Brandwood) said: “The targets are not challenging enough if we are achieving them - we need to change them.”

Whilst Coun Vivienne Barton (Con, Bartley Green) said: “I want to congratulate the team who are doing a sterling job.

“I remember years ago there was a steady stream of residents coming to me complaining about the number of empty properties lying around, but now we don’t get that.”