Norwich: 238 council homes empty as thousands wait

Norwich has more than14,500 council homes, of which 238 were empty due to a backlog of repairs needed

Some 238 council homes in a city are empty, while about 3,400 people are on the waiting list for a home.

One couple in Norwich said they had been living in their car since March while waiting for a house to be ready.

A spokeswoman at the Labour-run city council said it was facing "unacceptable delays" to a backlog of repairs.

The council's deputy leader Gail Harris said it was a "top priority" and good progress was being made.

The average time to re-let a property was 26 days between January and March 2021, but this figure was 35 days for the same months in 2022, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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Green group leader at the council, Lucy Galvin, said a "property management issue" had had "knock-on effects".

"People are... being told they will be ready soon and in fact they are not, they come off the list and they are essentially homeless and waiting," she said.

Ms Harris said it was a "challenge".

"We have got more than one contractor working on this and they are aware that we need these houses turned around quickly but they've got to be of a good standard at the same time," she said.

Norwich City Council has more than 14,500 council houses to rent out.

The council spokeswoman said more contractors were helping with the backlog in all areas, including empty homes.

"We have an average of 900 council properties every year that we have to turn around as quickly as possible after a tenant leaves and a new tenant takes up residence, so the number we have empty at any one point naturally varies," she said.