Councillor calls for empties houses to be sorted

Local Sinn Féin Councillor Danny Lavery has repeated his call for the Minister for Social Development to explain what action he will take to resolve the issue of vacant properties in North Belfast.
Lavery called on Minister Alex Attwood to intervene to ensure that properties are not allowed to sit empty while families are forced to live in hostels.

“Last week the Minister came back with an answer about work being carried out in areas such as the Long Streets, but he did not answer the question of what action he is taking around all the houses sitting vacant while families sit on the waiting list,” said the Sinn Féin Councillor.
“It is up to the Minister to allocate funding to the Housing Executive and housing associations to ensure that once a property is sitting empty any necessary work is carried out right away and a family put into it.

“We have a situation now where a house is vacated and it is left empty, then vandals get in and destroy the place and it costs more in the long run trying to make it habitable again. There is no need for houses sitting boarded-up and it is up to the Minister to ensure the funding is there to make this possible,” said the Sinn Féin Councillor.