There are more than 700 empty homes in Worcester

A report put before the city council’s Communities committee shows there were 774 empty properties in the city as of January 31.

Ten of those homes have been empty for more than a decade, while the vast majority (689 homes) have been empty for less than two years.

The report states: “There are many reasons why properties are empty and some of these can be very challenging to bring back into use, especially where there are sentimental attachments to inherited properties.”

It says that other reasons include probate, homeowners being in care homes, properties awaiting sale and DIY refurbishments.

Cllr Tom Piotrowski said he would like to see an action plan drawn up on how to bring empty homes back into use.

“It’s not necessarily a case of us being ambitious and trying to take over those properties.

“It’s about sending a clear message to landlords who are sitting on assets and doing nothing because they can afford to do so,” he said.

Cllr Piotrowski said tackling empty homes should be “front and centre” among the council’s priorities.

Cllr Elaine Willmore said the idea was “very worthy and necessary” but added: “We’ve all raised concerns about the standard of properties.

“We’ve all been in residents’ properties that you wouldn’t house a dog in. I think if there is a priority then it’s about safety, the conditions that people are living in.”

Cllr Jill Desayrah said tackling empty homes is important but “not at the expense of safety, when we have limited resources”.

The report says work to bring empty homes back into use is “challenging and resource intensive”.

Letters of advice are sent to the owners of properties left empty for more than a year, and again after two years.

Housing officers visit empty properties that have been reported to the council because of issues such as overgrown gardens or anti-social behaviour.

And the council has a ‘problem property group’ that meets to discuss ways of dealing with long-term empty premises.