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Dealing with empty houses

Updated on 26 January 2007

By Emily Reuben

Is legislation giving councils the right to seize empty residential houses actually working?


Derelict house

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The property market may be booming, with houses in short supply, but nearly 300,000 homes in the UK are estimated to be empty.

Under new laws introduced last year, local councils in England and Wales now have the right to seize control of residential properties that have been uninhabited for more than six months.

But six months on, what has actually been done?

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