Nearly 100 council homes remain empty despite a huge waiting list
Almost 100 council homes in Cheltenham are standing empty, despite more than 3,000 people waiting to be housed.
Figures released to the Echo by Cheltenham Borough Homes under the Freedom of Information Act show 92 homes are unoccupied and have been for up to seven months. While there are 3,157 applicants on the waiting list for a council home.
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Council properties
The statistics also revealed 56 of the properties should have been re-let as soon as possible but 35 have been empty for more than a month.
Chris Clarke, housing manager at Cheltenham Citizens Advice Bureau, said homelessness was a problem for many families.
He said: "We do see a lot of people who are on council house waiting lists.
"Some of them have been on there for a very long time. We obviously try to advise them as best we can about the process and how to sort out their situation as soon as possible."
But a spokesman for Cheltenham Borough Homes defended the statistics and claimed the association's record for council housing was among the best in the country. He said: "We've consistently been in the top quartile of housing associations for our performance in terms of time to re-let empty properties.
"There will sometimes be occasions when properties require significant repairs or improvements before re-letting and will be empty for a longer than average period of time."
According to Cheltenham Borough Homes, decisions are currently pending over 36 unoccupied homes on whether to use them for a different purpose.
For the remaining 56, it lists a variety of reasons why the homes are empty. In 16 cases, the property is unoccupied because the tenant moved to another council home. There are also 11 examples of tenants finding their own accommodation and nine who have abandoned their council properties.
In six cases, homes are empty because their tenants were evicted by the council.
Coun John Morris (LD, Springbank), cabinet member for the built environment, said having some empty homes was inevitable.
He said: "There will always be empty properties. As a councillor and the man responsible for the built environment, I certainly keep a watchful brief on the process to make sure houses are not delayed for too long.
"There are some which will inevitably slip through the net, but they are the exception.
"For an association with about 4,500 homes, this amount of empty properties is not bad."
3 Comments
by Sue, gloucester
Monday, January 19 2009, 5:04PM
“You woyuld be surprised at what some people do to property before they leave. Some people even take the kitchen units, light fittinga dn even the central heating. Also some people do not bother to notify the authority that they have vacated the property.”
by Grrr!, Cheltenham
Monday, January 19 2009, 12:01PM
“If tennants left properties in good condition, then the council or CBH wouldn't have to spend so much time and money getting them up to standard before passing them on!”
by CAROLINE, Gloucestershire
Monday, January 19 2009, 11:57AM
“So many homeless families in the region and when interviewed the best John Morris can do is "There are some which will inevitably slip through the net, but they are the exception."
"For an association with about 4,500 homes, this amount of empty properties is not bad."
Do the job that you get paid for Sir!”