The Homes and Communities Agency is hoping to fund councils? attempts to bring empty homes back into use via enforcement action, according to Inside Housing. The HCA have been planning to see if they could use their funding to sort out the problem of empty homes.
The HCA?s director of policy and strategy, Trevor Beattie, told audiences at an empty homes conference that the agency has planned a trial at Haringey, north London, where the council has identified 50 empty houses it would like to use.
Mr Beattie hoped the plan would offer good services: ?We?re looking at the possibility of funding that through the National Affordable Housing Programme, provided that there?s a housing association that can provide a good standard of design and sustainability.?
Bringing empty homes into use is a ?key element? in the HCA?s agency corporate plan, which will be published in the summer this year.
Mr Beattie said it?s also an important aspect of the agency?s homelessness strategy, due out by the end of December: ?We see that homelessness strategy as a key lever to make housing associations more proactive in their approach to empty properties.?
Inside Housing?s Empty Promise campaign aim is to provide grants for social landlords who wish to buy and repair empty homes.
Mr Beattie said this could lead to increased flexibility that the agency seeks, but did say that each area would have different solutions and that HCA would be discussing with each local authority in the best way to tackle the problem: ?For the HCA to invest more in empty homes, the homes do need to be of the right type and in the right place.?
