Empty homes in Brighton and Hove are being lived in again at a rate of 14 a month.
A total of 253 empty properties have been returned to use over the past 18 months by the Empty Property Team at Brighton and Hove City Council.
The figures were published by the council to coincide with the Empty Homes Agency’s National Week of Action, which started last Sunday (22 November) and finishes tomorrow (Sunday 29 November).
The council has worked with owners and planning and private sector housing teams to return long-term empty properties to use.
The council said in a press release that its Empty Property Team had been particularly successful in attracting grant funding for empty property assistance from the South East England Regional Housing Board.
This helped to fund bringing houses up to the “decent home standard” and allowed the council to lease those properties to local families.
Councillor Maria Caulfield, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “This shows just what we can achieve when working consistently across a number of departments with the home owners and with funding from the Regional Housing Board.
“Bringing properties back into use not only makes a new home available, it also helps to keep vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhood in check, improving the lives of all the residents.”
