Council to force sale of eyesore Wolverhampton home left empty for 17 years

City of Wolverhampton Council has said it will use compulsory purchasing powers to acquire a home in Lime Street, Penn Fields, if the owner again refuses to bring the empty building back into use.

The local authority said the terraced house had been vacant since 2008 and had a long history of issues, including antisocial behaviour and fly-tipping.

The vacant house is also liable for four times the standard rate of council tax – nearly £6,500 based on this year’s increase – because it has been empty for more than a decade.

A report for the cabinet meeting on April 9 said previous attempts to enforce the sale of the property four outstanding debts had been “evaded by the owner” and enforcement action by the council had been necessary to secure the building “on a number of occasions.”

“The property continues to deteriorate and there are ongoing concerns regarding security and dilapidation”, the report added.

“The property is in poor condition and is attracting ongoing fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.”

Cllr Steve Evans, the Labour council’s cabinet member for city housing, said a compulsory purchase order (CPO) was the “most effective” method to ensure the building did not remain empty and an eyesore.

He told the cabinet meeting on April 9 that the empty building was “not good for neighbours and not good for the city” and it was an “opportunity to bring a home back into use.”

City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet agreed to

The council said it would withdraw the compulsory purchase order if the home was “improved and re-occupied.”

The cabinet report said if the council buys the home it must be refurbished and re-occupied within ‘six or 12 months’ depending on the extent of the work.

The council said it needed to act to prevent the empty home from becoming a further drain on public money and a blight on the street.

The council said the cost of buying the empty house would be met from a £465,000 bid by the authority to bring empty properties back into use.

The money raised from the sale would be ring-fenced to use to buy more empty homes.