Record drop in time taken to re-let empty homes

12.31.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 15th Apr 2008

The number of days council-owned homes stand empty in Northampton has reached a record low.

Figures just released for the last financial year show the average number of days it took Liberal Democrat run Northampton Borough Council to re-let an empty property was 34 days, compared to 71 for the previous year.

For March (2008) the average number of days was 25, which places the council amongst the best performing in the country. 176 represents 1.44% of the council's total housing stock.

The average number of empty properties also improved, standing at 176 (1.44% of total housing stock) for the year against 307 (2.5%) for the previous year.

Cllr. Sally Beardsworth, Cabinet Member for Housing

Councillor Sally Beardsworth, Northampton Borough Council Liberal Democrat cabinet member for housing, said: "These are significant achievements. Good news for housing applicants as more properties are available to meet their needs. Good news for existing tenants who will see fewer boarded up properties on their estates. And good news for us, because we have more money from rent income to invest in our stock."

The news follows a drive by the council's housing team to better manage the turn-around times of properties once they become empty through coordinated team work. The success is also attributed to a focused campaign to actively market properties in low demand.