A story in the Guardian newspaper shows that politically-motivated squatters are not necessarily deterred by whether or not squatting is a crime. Squatters in the Republic of Ireland, associated with the Occupy movement, are challenging the waste of empty housing linked to the failings of the banks. In Ireland a massive speculative building programme during the "Cetlic Tiger" period has left a legacy of hundreds of so-called "ghost estates", while the tab for the bailing-out of the banks who fuelled the building binge is picked up the broader community in the form of job losses, higher taxes and cuts of...
I thought it would be helpful to EHN members provide an update on the DCLG's Community Grants Programme, before the...
The Empty Homes Network has now published its draft response to the government's proposed changes to Council Tax discounts and...
A fair number of our practitioners have been happy to get referrals of empty homes via the Great British Property...
Hot on the heels of one House of Commons Adjournment Debate on empty homes, comes a second, this time secured by Graham Jones, Labour MP for Hyndburn, on the 13th December. Again Andrew Stunell answered questions . The full text of the exchanges can be found on the They Work for You website
MP Jones made important points about the issues facing areas of low demand. He pointed out that Hyndburn had over 7% of its housing stock empty and that housing needed to be seen in the context of an overall plan for regeneration, to which housing could make...
To make the Empty Homes Network an even richer experience for its Members, we're going to reward Members who post...
There was an Adjournment debate on empty homes in the House of Commons on 29th November. The Adjournment Debate was...
This is a long-range announcement - call it a pre-announcement if yoiu like - that EHN will be holding its...
It's been a long time coming - but it's finally arrived: the government's first national Empty Homes Strategy.
Except it...
The HCA has published its long-awaited Bidding Guidance for its part of the £100million empty homes programme.
Whilst the flexibilities...
The Department for Business Information and Skills has just released its formal response on the Consumer Credit element of the long-running (not to say interminable) Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency Review. This includes the comment that its formal response on the proposal to lift the minimum requirement for an enforced sale to £25,000 is expected "shortly". Specifically, the newly published document says, with regard to questions 12 to 14 of the original call for evidence:
The Ministry of Justice consultation on orders for sale and proposals to improve the effectiveness of the court enforcement process closed in June. The Government...
David Ireland, Chief Executive of the charity Empty Homes, has laid into the rules that prevent housing associations and others...
Eric Pickles announced a consultation on Monday on proposals to change the council tax discount and exemption regime to make...
Ken Clarke, the Justice Minister, announced on the 26th October that the government will introduce amendments to make squatting of...
