Birmingham Council to Sell Empty Homes at £300m Loss

Birmingham City Council has announced plans to sell over 700 empty homes, originally built as an athletes’ village for the Commonwealth Games, at a projected loss exceeding £300 million to taxpayers. Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Perry Barr, criticized the Labour-led council's decision as an “absolute scandal,” highlighting the financial implications of the sale to a private company, which has yet to be disclosed. The council, facing a financial crisis that led to its declaration of bankruptcy last year, cited the need to convert these properties into homes for local residents. The council's report indicated that selling the 755 properties individually would take over five years, incurring significant maintenance costs during that period. Birmingham City Council has invested £325 million in the development, with £292 million borrowed, exacerbating its already strained financial situation. The report emphasized that the sale, while resulting in a substantial loss, was deemed the best option under current circumstances. Critics, including Robert Alden, the Conservative leader on the council, condemned the decision as one of the worst financial blunders in local government history. He expressed outrage that the council allowed completed flats to remain vacant while there is a pressing housing demand. Khan has called on the government to provide funding to retain all 968 homes for social housing, arguing that it would prevent taxpayer losses and benefit the community. Government-appointed commissioners overseeing the council's operations supported the sale but recommended a thorough review of the decision-making process. The council attributed the decline in property valuations to the economic fallout from the pandemic and the impact of former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget.