Why should I do anything with my empty property?

CPOs allow Local Authorities (LAs) to take ownership of a property or land.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council only use CPOs when other avenues have been exhausted and there appears to be no way forward with a property.

Several CPOs have been successfully completed throughout the town to date.

This gives LAs the power to take over land, houses or other properties to increase the number of houses available or improve the quality of the housing stock.

This power is usually reserved for land acquisitions but can apply to empty homes when improving substandard ones.

This gives LAs the power they need to help achieve their community strategies allowing them to acquire land for redevelopment.

Where the property is detrimental to the street scene, these powers are used to force an owner to tidy a property. 

Non-compliance of this notice can result in an initial fine of £1,000, prosecution and costs being applied to the property.

Where the property is considered dangerous or dilapidated, these powers are used to order the owner to make the property safe or allow emergency action to make it safe.

Where properties are considered a statutory nuisance or affecting health, this legislation gives LAs the power to order the owner to make the property safe or allow emergency action to make it safe.

This legislation is used to address empty properties which are not secure and are being broken into, vandalised or used for illegal activities.

The owner can be ordered to make the property secure or, in an emergency, be boarded or fenced off.

Where a charge has been applied to a property through works completed in default of the above notices, this legislation gives LAs all the legal rights of a mortgage lender and enables the enforced sale of a property.