What is a compulsory purchase order (CPO)?
This is where the Council takes legal action, which ultimately results in taking over ownership of a property. The Council has to give the owner best market price in compensation and we then seek to make sure the property is improved to a high standard and re-occupied by selling it on to a Registered Social Landlord (RSL). CPOs are not a simple or quick fix. The whole process can take between 2 and 5 years. We have to show that we have tried every other option to get the property back into use, but that those actions have not been successful. We have a national reputation for our CPO enforcement programme and are the lead authority in the East London sub-region on empty property work. Over 300 CPOs have been agreed by Members in the last 10 years and the overall empty “property” programme is currently numbering some 800-900 cases. Many properties have been brought back into use by owners themselves as we explain options to them. Around 90% of cases do not need us to take final ownershi
