1000s wait as homes lie empty

More than 200 council homes in Wolverhampton are sitting empty and ready for new tenants, while 7,303 people are told they have to wait, figures obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request by the Express & Star revealed today.

The figures show 448 properties in the city have no-one living in them, with 218 suitable for someone to live in immediately. Many have been empty for so long they are boarded-up to prevent vandals attacking. Among the other 230, some are waiting for sales to go through under the right-to-buy process.

Others are awaiting demolition or need work done to make them habitable.

And 69 homes were left abandoned by tenants in 2007, with Wolverhampton Homes, which manages 22,500 homes on behalf of the city council, having to take possession of 54 of them.

In September, the offshoot company of Wolverhampton Council had 178 properties available for rent but the figure has climbed to 218 in the past three months.

It still leaves 34 people chasing every available property.

The latest figures have been met with mixed feelings, with some councillors blaming Wolverhampton Homes for not doing enough to get empty homes let, and others saying more available properties are needed.

Conservative councillor Wendy Thompson, who represents Tettenhall Wightwick, said: "Wolverhampton Homes needs to take a long look at its policies.

"Clearly it has homes that no-one wants to move into.

"It may not be the homes themselves but the areas they are in, and families must be afraid that if they take up that property they will never get out."

Labour councillor Peter O'Neill, chairman of the scrutiny panel which reviews Wolverhampton Homes, said: "The performance is improving, and when you consider the number of properties empty in relation to the number that Wolverhampton Homes manages, it is a tiny per centage."