1,000 signatures reached
To: Bristol City Council
BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL - TENANTS NEED THESE HOMES!
ACORN calls on Bristol City Council to employ its full enforcement powers to maximise supply of rental properties. In addition to ensuring its own residential properties do not lie needlessly empty, it should take full advantage of Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) and other powers and provide Council Officers all necessary support and resources.
Why is this important?
Bristol is in the middle of a housing crisis affecting thousands across the city and made worse by the unaffordable rents and insecurity of renting privately.
Shortage of Council Housing and Housing Association properties leaves the Private Rental Sector at breaking point. Lack of supply drives down standards as we tenants are forced into paying eye-watering rents for damp and mould-ridden houses with only a couple of months security. In these circumstances, privately-owned empty buildings are a dangerous and unacceptable limit on the pool of available housing.
Where properties have stood empty for 2 years or more the Council can turn them into much-needed homes. Empty Dwelling Management Orders provide Local Authorities with powers of ‘Compulsory Leasing’. They can take possession, renovate and rent properties to recover costs. After that the building is returned to the owner with a paying tenant.
These powers are currently a last resort. It should be made clear that the use of EDMOs will be taken up if all other reasonable efforts come to nothing.
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