Abandoned property | Berneslai Homes

Article: Abandoned property

What is an abandoned property?

This is where a tenant / resident moves out of their home permanently or for long periods and do not inform us. They may leave the property unsecured which leaves it an easy target for vandalism or squatters and affect the visual appearance of your street.

Why is this a problem?

Vandalism and security measures costs you money and can lead to unsightly environments where people eventually may not want to live or lead to you wanting to move out. It also means that we may be missing an opportunity to re house a member of your family, friends or people in need who are registered on the Housing Register awaiting a new home.

What do I do if I am aware of one?

If you think one of your neighbours has abandoned their home, please contact us as soon as you think a property has been abandoned.  You can contact your local Barnsley Connects office on Tel: 01226 775555.   You can also email your local housing management  team or report the abandoned tenancy online.

• Athersley/ Lundwood Housing Management Team 
• Barnsley West Housing Management Team
• Cudworth Housing Management Team 
• Dearne Housing Management Team 
• Hoyland Housing Management Team 
• Kendray/ Worsbrough Housing Management  Team 
• Town Housing Management Team
• Wombwell Housing Management Team 

What will we do when we receive your report?

We will call out to inspect the property and if we need to we will secure it.

We will then try to contact the tenant. If we cannot we will start taking legal action to end the tenancy and take back possession of the home.
This may take several weeks as we have to follow the law and give the tenant a reasonable time to return to the property.
We will try to update you on progress.

If you see someone breaking into the property please contact South Yorkshire Police on Tel: 101.

How you can help us?

You can help us tackle the problem by contacting us and telling us that someone has abandoned a council home. Tell us the address of the property and the last time you saw the tenant together with any detail as to where they may have moved to.

If someone is breaking into the property please contact South Yorkshire Police on Tel: 0114 2202020. You do not have to leave your name.

Useful Leaflets

You can download the following leaflets: 

• Your Tenancy
• Introductory tenancies
• We have given you a  Notice of Possession Proceedings - what happens next? (for Introductory tenants)
• We have given you a Notice of Seeking Possession - what happens next? (for Secure tenants)

 Alternatively all our leaflets are available from your local Barnsley Connects Office . 

Or, we can send you a copy of the leaflet in the post. Just e-mail us at CustomerServices@berneslaihomes.co.uk. 

Legislation

The following acts relate to this process.

• Protection from Eviction Act 1977
• Housing Act 1985
• Housing Act 1996
• Housing Act 2004

Useful Websites 

The Department for Communities and Local Government website may have some more useful information about your rights as a council tenant. 

Response Times/ Next Steps

Berneslai Homes will respond to a report within 24 hours.

Out of hours procedure

If you see an abandoned property outside our normal office hours you can report it to our out of hours emergency repairs service on 01226 730798. They will make sure that the property is secured.