Legal advice about empty homes

Sometimes the main barrier to an empty property being brought back into use is a legal problem. If this is the case, the Council may be able to help empty property owners, or those with an interest in an empty property, get expert legal advice. This can help to resolve complex legal matters such as:

• where the owner has died and those inheriting have not applied for, or have encountered problems with, probate 
• the owner is unable to sell, or secure finance for renovations, due to missing deeds or defective titles

The Empty Homes and Loans Team have arranged for a local solicitor to try to unblock barriers to the sale of a property by giving legal advice to the owners or prospective owners.

The private sector solicitor acts on your behalf (as the owner) and the costs of the initial consultation are met by the Council. The initial consultation is important because normally this will identify what the legal issue is and the legal work needed to sort this out.

If further advice is needed the Council may continue to meet the costs of this, but will decide this on a case by case basis. If the Council does meet additional costs these will normally need to be repaid when the relevant property is sold. 

One condition of the scheme is that the client signs a consent form authorising their solicitor to share with the Council the advice provided to them. This is to give the Council some reassurance that the legal work being paid for is relevant and in the end, will help the owner bring their empty property back into use.

If you would be interested in taking up this free assistance, please contact the Empty Homes and Loans Team and we will discuss your case with you.

If your situation is considered suitable, we will send you a consent form to complete and return. We will then be in touch about referring you to a solicitor.