Empty properties

If you are interested in buying an empty property you will need to contact the current owner and negotiate a sale.  The Council does not arrange the sale of privately owned properties.

To trace the owner of an empty property you could take the following steps;

• Write a letter addressed to 'The Owner' and put it through the letter box of the property, as the owners of many empty properties do visit and collect the post.
• Contact Land Registry to find out the name and address of the registered owner.  This is public information which anyone is entitled to obtain (there is usually a charge for this service & not all properties are registered).
• A named person can often be located in the same way as people investigating a family tree using telephone directories, electoral register and web sites.
• Talk to the neighbours of the empty property as they often know useful information about the owner or their relatives.

The Council may hold information on the owner but is unable to release this due to the Data Protection Act.