FIVE homes in Derby with a combined market value of £690,000 could be taken over by the city council as they have been empty for a long time.
At a cabinet meeting last night, the city council's Labour leadership granted its officers permission to start compulsory purchase proceedings on the houses.
Two of the properties, in Normanton and Mickleover, have been vacant for more than a decade. The others are in the city centre, Chaddesden, and Alvaston.
If the council takes over the homes, they would either be offered for sale at a public auction with the condition that they would be renovated and returned to use in a year, or offered up to become council housing stock. The sale price would then be used as a basis for compensating the owners.
Councillor Sarah Russell, cabinet member for housing, finance and welfare, said: "Council officers have gone to great lengths to encourage voluntary progress from owners of the reported properties but have so far been unsuccessful.
"However, this encouragement will continue and in our experience cabinet authority to initiate a compulsory purchase process can often convince a previously uncooperative owner to progress voluntarily.
"The average cost to the council of bringing such properties back into use, where a compulsory purchase is unavoidable, is about £8,000 per house. This includes capital expenditure and the administrative and legal costs of the enforcement proceedings. However, when the council successfully returns a long-term vacant house to the housing market, they are given a New Homes Bonus payment from Government, which can balance the costs incurred."
The council said it was not able to reveal the exact addresses of the homes due to the Data Protection Act.
