Upcoming Events :
Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
Lib Dems pledge to address housing crisis
Mon 12 Apr 2010
The Liberal Democrats have outlined their social housing policy ahead of next month's general election.
According to figures from the party, 1.8 million people are now on housing waiting lists.
This, it stated, is up from one million when Labour came into power in 1997.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has therefore stated that if his party wins at the polls on May 6th, it will bring 250,000 empty homes back into use.
He said people who own these properties will be awarded a grant to fund renovation work if they are used for social housing.
Meanwhile, he pledged that owners of houses which are being restored for private use will be given loans to fund the home improvements.
Mr Clegg described this as a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly way of solving the housing crisis than building lots of new homes.
He added that empty houses are a wasted resource and a blight on local communities, as they attract crime and anti-social behaviour.
