Manchester's Housing Crisis - 20,955 on waiting lists whilst 13,251 homes lie empty! (Manchester Liberal Democrats Online)

Manchester Liberal Democrats Online <info@manchester-libdems.org.uk>

Manchester's Housing Crisis - 20,955 on waiting lists whilst 13,251 homes lie empty!

May 5, 2009 3:55 AM

Manchester's Empty Homes Scandal

Manchester Lib Dem housing spokesperson, Cllr Iain Donaldson, has called for drastic action as new figures showed that over 13,000 homes in the City lie empty, and that over 7,000 of those have been empty for over six months. At the same time Housing waiting lists in the City have risen to nearly 21,000.

Cllr Donaldson stated that "It is an absolute disgrace that the North West has the largest number of empty homes of any region in the country, whilst thousands of people in Manchester are waiting for housing. Everyone has the right to a decent home, and the Government is missing its big chance to help people out."

The startling figures use figures from the Empty Homes Agency and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), and show that:

Three in ever 50 homes across the City is empty.
7,179 homes have been empty for six months or more, out of a total of 13,251 empty homes across the City.
Greater Manchester has 26,970 homes empty for more than six months

The Housing Act (2004) gave councils the power to bring empty homes back into use through Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO's), but the complex legal process involved means they have been little used.

"We need action now, as the recession has stopped house-building dead, and the collapse of the mortgage market makes housing even more scarce," Cllr Donaldson insists, "Manchester's use of Compulsory Purchase Orders has been effective, but they, and other local authorities, need greater support from the government if they are to solve this crisis.

"Local Authorities can start using EDMO's to bring more of the empty houses back into use - but they need money to do it. The Council needs to look to its reserves to see if additional funding can be provided locally for this work, but more importantly the government need to act quickly to reduce waiting lists and calm the current housing crisis before it gets further out of control."

More information about the Liberal Democrats Housing campaign can be found at www.housingincrisis.org