COUNCIL chiefs have forced the sale of a dilapidated and neglected Worcester property which had been empty for around a decade and had been subject to reports of an alleged vermin infestation.
The property on Chestnut Walk was also blighted by hugely overgrown vegetation in the garden and had a hole in its roof.
In 2019, Worcester City Council served a formal notice on the landlord to carry out repairs to the outside of the property, such as tidying the garden and removing household waste from its grounds.
But the owner failed to comply within the necessary three months, so the council carried out the work and put a local land charge on the property to recoup its costs.
The owner had also accrued significant Council Tax arrears.
The city council then forced the sale of the property and claimed back the cash it was owed.
The house has since been refurbished.
This week is National Empty Homes Week which is aimed at highlighting the work councils and communities are doing to bring unoccupied homes back into use.
The week is also being used to take action against neglected empty homes which negatively affect neighbourhoods.
Owners of empty homes in Worcester are being urged to bring them back into use to provide much-needed rental accommodation.
For the past five years, all houses in Worcester which have been unoccupied for at least two years have been hit with a Council Tax premium.
Vice-chair of the city council’s Communities Committee, Coun Neil Laurenson, said: “It has not been an easy process and it is a last resort, but it is important for absent owners to remember that they still have responsibilities to their neighbours and the wider community.”
Visit www.actiononemptyhomes.org/ehweek for more information.
