New initiative to ease homes shortage in Southampton

In Southampton, the number of vacant properties has reached 3,030 while about 11,000 people were on the housing waiting list.

Councils already have powers, under the 2004 Housing Act, to take control of properties sat empty for more than six months.

They may then charge market rates for rent and use the income to carry out repairs and refurbishments.

In extreme cases, and as a last resort, councils may issue a compulsory purchase order to take ownership of a property.

However, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) figures suggest the powers have failed to bring enough empty homes back into use while thousands languish on waiting lists.

After Southampton, the area with the highest number of vacant properties in the south is the Isle of Wight, with 2,691, followed by the New Forest (1,933) and Basingstoke and Deane (1,696).

The areas with the fewest empty homes are the Test Valley (865) and Fareham (990).

Desmond Swayne, Tory MP for New Forest West, said: “I get a huge postbag from people in very significant housing need who can’t get anywhere to live.

“We in the New Forest have one of the longest waiting lists for housing, with lots of high priority cases and very little housing to put them in.

“Yes, we need to find many more ways of getting that housing back into use, but it’s got to be balanced on both sides.

“Many landlords currently find it not worth the candle to rent out to private tenants because of the risks involved. We need to address that so we can get a lot more supply.”

In May, the Conservative- Liberal Democrat coalition set out plans, in its joint programme for Government, to “explore a range of measures to bring empty homes into use”.

Yesterday, a DCLG spokesman said: “The Government is considering how best to bring empty homes back into use and provide much needed extra homes.

“We hope to make an announcement shortly.”