Residents of Brent will be aware of the number of empty residential properties in the borough and many voices have been raised urging the council to act to bring them back into use for family accommodation.
The Cabinet on Monday will be asked to approve the compulsory purchase of a residential property in Kenton which has a long history of neglect and is currently squatted. The Council claim that the owner has made no determined and ongoing effort to bring the property back into use.
One might expect the Council if the CPO is successful to refurbish the house and add it to the stock of council housing. However, they appear to expect to hand it over to the private sector: ‘Acquisition by the Council and the subsequent sale and refurbishment will achieve a quantitative and qualitative housing gain.’ This doesn't seem to fit with the justification for the CPO in the report which points to the shortage of social housing while the sale will and refurbishment will probably add to the over-priced private rental sector:
· There is a shortage of social housing creating a greater dependency on the private rented sector and increasing the need for the council to make the most of the empty homes throughout the borough. Empty homes are critical in Brent, we are responding to complex needs for housing and working towards increasing this supply by returning empty dwellings to use.
· Brent has acute housing pressure, there are over 19,000 households currently on the housing register.
· Brent has a culturally diverse population and needs a variety of types of homes – for rent and sale, for single people and for families with children.
· Current and future need for homes prompts us to make better use of all our existing housing resources, which include empty properties.
· Council tax records show that there are 1259 empty properties within the borough of which 859 properties have been empty for 6 months or more.
· Empty properties have a significant contribution to make in Brent’s development of a sustainable community, returning them to use helps to increase the housing
supply to meet our housing needs, improves the condition of the area and brings increased revenue through council tax. An empty property is a wasted resource especially when there is a need for housing and a shortage of supply.