Empty homes given cash boost

Abandonment

Empty homes given cash boost

£22 million is to be spent on turning 1300 of the abandoned buildings in London into family homes. This announcement by the London Mayor Boris Johnson is part of his manifesto pledge to invest £60 million into bringing over 3400 empty homes back into use by 2011. It is aimed that no more than 1% of the homes on London will be empty for a long period.

There will be further practical encouragement to owners of property to bring them back into use, as the Mayor has promised a further £21 million in 2010/2011. The Mayor said: "In the last housing market downturn of the 1990s, the number of empty homes soared. Leaving homes empty when so many people are seeking housing is unacceptable and abandoned buildings can blight neighbourhoods, attracting vandalism and creating local eyesores.
"Today's package delivers an unprecedented level of funding to tackle the capital's empty homes, more than tripling the previous budget. Working with London's boroughs, this investment will help to significantly improve London's housing stock."

Property TalkLive (Daisy Newman), 30th March 2009