§ Mr. Rossiasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many residential properties are in the ownership of his Department in Greater London, Greater Manchester, Avon, Sussex and Warwickshire; how many of these are unoccupied; and what is the average length of time which such properties remain unoccupied.
§ Mr. MarksThe information set out hereunder is based on the position at 1st August 1976, and the empty quarter numbers shown in brackets refer to properties which had been unoccupied for more than 28 days.
Greater London 300 (21) Greater Manchester 4 (Nil) Avon 6 (Nil) Sussex 40 (5) Warwickshire 3 (Nil) It is estimated that the average length of time which properties normally remain unoccupied is from two to six weeks, depending upon the amount of work required between occupations. In some cases, however—for example, where substantial renovation is required or a property becomes available for sale—this can prove to be a period of months.