Plea over empty homes

SADDLEWORTH parish councillor Ken Hulme is calling on Oldham Council to relax its council tax rules on empty houses to help pensioners and recently bereaved people through the housing slump.

The councillor said he had been contacted by several people who found themselves forced into serious financial difficulties by the collapse in the housing market.

They included pensioners who were leaving their homes to live in accommodation designed for older people, and others who had inherited their parents’ houses after a death.

Councillor Hulme said the people concerned were struggling to sell the empty houses, and having to pay council tax on an extra property after a few months’ exemption.

He is urging the council to use its powers to defer payment of council tax until a property has been sold and the proceeds are available.

He said the current arrangements were hitting people who could least afford it, and causing real worries for pensioners on a fixed income and often not in good health.

“I believe Oldham Council should use its discretionary powers to assist people in this position while the housing crisis continues,” said Councillor Hulme.

“Senior citizens and the recently bereaved are not speculative developers hanging on to empty homes and they should be treated differently.”