Rother District Council is backing a national initiative that aims to bring empty properties back into use for housing.

National Empty Homes Week (4-10 March), offers participating councils the opportunity to highlight action being taken to bring empty homes back into use, promote their services and support owners of empty homes.

Cllr Ruairi McCourt, lead member for Housing at Rother District Council, said: “We’re very happy to support this important initiative.

“Housing issues in the UK have made national headlines over recent months, including the massive increase in the cost of providing temporary accommodation, which has hit many councils hard. Here in Rother, our temporary accommodation spending increased from £1.9m in 2019-20 to £2.8m in 2023-24.

“Initiatives like Empty Homes Week not only help to highlight housing issues, but they also support tackling the problem. At Rother, significant work has also been carried out on Empty Homes with over 70 investigations undertaken from April – December 2023.”

Empty properties can become unsightly, encourage anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and may attract pests and squatters, causing trouble for the surrounding community. If there is a problem empty property near you, the Council has powers to require the owner to carry out improvements.

We are keen to get empty homes back into use, for people waiting for housing in Rother. If you own an empty property, the Council can purchase it from you, or let it for you. You can report an empty property or contact us about putting yours back into use using the report button and email address on this page Empty properties – Rother District Council

If you or someone you know is a landlord and has a property to let, please get in touch. For more information, visit: Rother Tenant Finder Scheme – Incentive – Rother District Council

Published: 5th March 2024