Hull City Council are urging locals to report empty, derelict houses so they can be brought back to life.
The scheme comes as Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, who leads on housing at the council, reported the city had a ‘high level of housing need’ despite there being 4,767 private homes known to be empty, with 1,963 of them out of use for six months or more.
Cllr Drake-Davis said: ‘Empty, usually dilapidated, properties deprive people of much-needed homes.
‘They also have a negative effect on neighbourhoods, making them look uncared for and can encourage anti-social behaviour and rodent infestations.’
According to the local authority, an empty home can be reported via the council’s website, where it will then be checked and boarded up, with rubbish cleared away and any major maintenance issues addressed such as water leaks.
Information about where to report such properties can be accessed here.
Afterwards, the owner of the property will be contacted to discuss what will happen to the property. This could include a sale to a private landlord, an agreement with the council to rent it out or acquisition by the council.
The new retrofit programme, which the council have claimed will also make homes ‘more energy efficient and healthier’, has already seen some successes. Hull are working with contractor Kingston Works Limited to rectify a row of empty flats on De Grey Street.
The properties are being refurbished to provide two one-bedroom flats and four four-bedroom houses to rent form the council.
Photo by Cas Holmes via UnSplash
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