Empty council homes in Wolverhampton cost £1.3m in lost rent

Empty council homes in Wolverhampton cost the city's taxpayers more than £1.3 million in the last financial year, figures revealed today show.

The amount was lost by Wolverhampton Homes – which runs more than 23,000 homes on behalf of the council – in 2011/12 because rent was not collected on properties. The total amount lost was £1,380,331, which is £160,686 more than in 2010/11. It comes as figures show the average number of empty properties has also risen from 354 to 397.

Wolverhampton Homes says that some of the properties are empty because they are part of a major renovation project which means they often cannot be used.

But chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, Campbell Robb, said it was "simply wrong" that so many homes were standing empty while people "desperately needed a roof over their head".

Mr Robb added: "Let's not forget, as the Government admits, bringing empty homes back in to use alone is not enough to solve the housing crisis.

"The Government also needs to focus on getting our construction sector going."

Wolverhampton Homes spokeswoman Kate Hughes said that, of the 397 empty properties, 76 were among those that are part of an improvement programme on the Hickman Estate.

During 2012-13, Wolverhampton City Council is investing £30 million in making improvements to 1,670 council homes, which includes the replacement of bathrooms, kitchens, central heating and front doors.

Mark Henderson, director of housing at Wolverhampton Homes, said: "We are in the middle of our Decent Homes programme and are undertaking significant improvements on estates.

"It can sometimes make more sense for the home to be empty while works are undertaken so as not to inconvenience the tenant."