Bringing empty homes back to life

The event, run by Calderdale Council, takes place at 2pm on Tuesday, October 13 at The King’s Centre in Halifax, to try and turn Calderdale’s 1,646 empty houses into homes fit for use.

Owners of empty properties can get advice from a range of organisations on how to earn a regular income through renting or make a cash lump sum through selling.

Advice will include marketing a property for sale or letting, improving energy efficiency and home security and technical advice or help to find a contractor.

Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for skills and the environment, Coun Jenny Lynn, said: “Keeping a property empty costs money. For example, there’s insurance, security, maintenance and council tax to pay for.

“We offer a wide range of information, including technical advice and financial support, and the Under One Roof event is part of this.”

Keith Briggs, from Halifax, had an empty flat for four years. With help from Calderdale Council he has brought the flat back into use and now has three tenants living there.

He said: “I had several tenants, but the flat had been empty for four years. Calderdale Council offered me support to bring it back into use. They organised some renovation work, found good quality contractors and supervised the work. My flat looks great and I now have three tenants.”