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Blast for council on empty homes
Date published: 25/11/2009
MORE than 4,000 ghost houses are being left to rot by private landlords across Oldham, but the council is not using powers to bring them back into use.
Empty dwelling management orders (EDMOs) are designed to kick out a landlord refusing to co-operate with attempts to bring a property back into use.
Across the country, only 27 properties have been refurbished in this way, but none of them by Oldham Council according to Government information.
Latest figures show there are about 4,400 privately-owned empty homes across the borough.
EDMOs, introduced in 2006, give a council temporary management rights over homes at risk of falling prey to squatters, drug-dealers and fly-tippers — allowing a house to revert to its original owner at a later date.
Across the UK, the number of empty homes has hit one million, a figure which charities for the homeless have described as shocking.
Kay Boycott, Shelter’s director of policy, said: “More money needs to be made available to give local authorities the manpower to make contact with the owners of empty properties, to start getting these homes back into use.
“They have the legal powers to bring long-term empty homes back into use, but don’t have the resources to enforce these powers.”
The Tories have pledged to scrap EDMOs. Housing spokesman Grant Shapps said: “Labour announces these schemes with a fanfare and they turn out to be damp squibs.”
But Communities Minister Ian Austin insisted the scheme was beginning to work well, adding: “We always intended the legislation to be used only as a last resort.”
The only councils to have used EDMOs are Bolton, Carlisle, Bromley, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Lewisham, New Forest, Norwich,
Peterborough, South Norfolk, Southend-on-Sea, South Oxfordshire, South Tyneside, Swale and Wychavon.
The Evening Chronicle contacted the council but it was unable to provide a comment.
Have Your Say
Here we go again Brought in by Labour with no thought about how it would or could be funded , The Council have no money to spend on these properties unless some thing else is not done . Great idea council repair fix up the properties then hand them back??? Council should be allowed to take them permanently that would get the owner to do some thing.
There is a reason why only 27 properties have been the subject of EDMOs across the country, whilst at the same time 4400 proprties in this borough alone are empty.
The reason is spin and subterfuge. The EDMO policy was brought in to fool the electorate that the government was actually doing something when in fact it places absolutely no obligations on local authorities to force them to use this to solve their chronic shortages of council houses.
As someone who is renovating a property for/with my son house all but finished the tone of letters sent out from OMBC are far from friendly.
The fact the full rates are paid on the property almost irrelavant.
EDMOs are just yet another BIG BROTHER kick the little person if not used correctly.
Nick F - refer them to the former Royton Assembly Hall - then ignore them!
the council needs to get its own house in order before playing big brother to private land lords
Knowing oldham council there answer will be WHAT ARE EDMOs?
It takes ombc 5-10 yrs to understand new things, look at parking in bus lanes, they are still not sure what to do...is it against the law or ?????????????
By Keith @ 25/11/2009 12:57:25
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