LGA calls for overhaul of "overly complex" regime for securing CPOs

The current system for securing compulsory purchase orders is “a costly, overly complex and bureaucratic process” and hinders councils from tackling empty homes, the Local Government Association has said.

According to the LGA, less than 100 planning and housing CPOs are submitted in a year. There are an estimated 700,000 empty properties in England.

The Association called for the system to be simplified and extended. This would include removal of “unnecessary” requirements to seek permission from central government.

Under the LGA’s proposals:

• Councils should be able to acquire time-limited leaseholds, “enabling them to undertake refurbishment work to properties and bring them back into habitable states”. “[They] could then recoup their investment through rental income over the set time period, and even acquire nomination rights, returning the properties back to their owners at the end of the lease.”
• The requirements that local authorities pay compensation on long-term empty properties (currently 7.5% of the property value, up to £75,000) should be removed. Councils should be allowed to formally share costs and liabilities with a third party.

Cllr Mike Jones, chairman of the LGA's Environment and Housing Board, said: "Empty homes could be brought back into use if the Government overhauled the antiquated and utterly inefficient compulsory purchase system.

"During one of the worst housing crises this country has faced, with demand at sky-high levels, councils are being hamstrung. It is high time they were given proper compulsory purchase powers, enabling them to ‘revive' properties that are simply gathering dust.”

Cllr Jones added that the CPO process had not been designed with empty homes in mind.

“Reducing financial costs and risks for local authorities would support increased use as well as new powers to allow councils to lease the property and bring it back up to habitable standard,” he said.

"The demand for all types of housing continues to increase and we are collectively failing to keep up with demand. Bringing empty homes back into use is one part of the solution to helping people access the homes they need."

 See also:

An Introduction to Compulsory Purchase Orders

£25.00

This course aims to demonstrate that gaining a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) can be a straightforward process, guiding the viewer through the stages of applying for a CPO and how to proceed after the CPO has been granted.