The deadline to sell derelict homes in Liverpool for £1 has been extended by the city council after it received more than 2,000 applications.
The original deadline was Wednesday February 26th and that has been extended by one week to Wednesday March 6th.
Abandoned houses in the Granby, Picton and Kensington regeneration zones will be sold for £1 in the hopes it will revive the rundown area. The properties have been empty for several years and come with no fixtures or fittings. According to the council, the condition of the houses vary.
The housing scheme forms a part of much wider plans to bring 179 homes back into use. The plans will oversee the development of an ‘Own Place’ model, which will lead to the council transferring vacant properties to The Riverside Group, who will refurbish them and then sell them on for 25% below the market value.
Of the 179 vacant properties , 20 are being made available for a pound as part of this pilot scheme. If the scheme is successful, this number may increase and the scheme extended to more of these properties.
This pilot scheme of 20 homes will support the Mayor of Liverpool’s pledge to being 1,000 vacant properties back into use.
Residents who are successful in their applications will be expected to refurbish it into a ‘decent home standard’, which means they must be in a reasonable state of repair. The list of criteria includes; the houses must be warm, weatherproof, have reasonably modern facilities, and successful applicants must live in the property for five years and not sub-let it in that time.