How council house has lain empty for 435 DAYS after being turned down by 33 different people
Unloved 40 Popple Street, Page Hall, Sheffield has cost the local council more than £5,000 in lost rent
A CITY has lost out on a fortune in rent because people are refusing to live in its council houses - with one losing £5,000 alone after it was turned down a staggering 33 times.
It's been revealed 66 council houses in Sheffield, South Yorks., have stood empty for 100 days or more - costing £147,915 in lost rent payments.
One house - 40 Popple Street, Page Hall - in the city has been turned down by 33 different people, 22 of them refused the property due to its location, according to the report.
It stood empty for 435 days and has cost the council £5,005 in lost rent.
The next worst offender was refused by 33 people, and has stood empty for 196 days and cost £2,699 in lost rent payments.
Along with people turning it down for its location and its size, one person even turned it down as it didn't have a dining room.
The property which has stood empty for the longest has been vacant for 469 days and has cost £5,842 in lost rent payments.
Another home on the list has been refused by 21 people, stood empty for 112 days and a cost £1,303.
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The area of Sheffield with the most vacant council homes is Gleadless Valley, which 13 homes stood vacant for a total of 2,438 days.
According to the September report, 23 of the homes on the 'empty list' are currently undergoing maintenance and repairs, or are currently uninhabitable due to damage.
The remaining 43 properties are ready to be lived-in right away - but are actually being refused by people.
Sheffield Council stressed that the loss of rent figures don't paint the true picture as a lot of the properties are investments, which they knew at the time of buying would require months of work.
A Sheffield Council spokesman said: "We can't force people to accept a council house but we want to help more people find a suitable home.
"We are working hard on this and have reduced the number of empty homes by 15 per cent since changing our allocation policy.
"More than a third of those empty for longest are ones we're refurbishing or carrying out major work on. "Carrying out this work, and buying properties that need work done to them, is part of our plan to increase council housing stock.
"We always knew this would be the case when we bought these properties so we are not missing rent income that we were expecting.
"Other homes are harder to let than others. Three bedroom homes have become less desirable since the bedroom tax was introduced for example, and sheltered bedsits are less desirable than they used to be.
"We continue to work with tenants to further reduce the number of empty properties. We believe our figures are in line with what other authorities are seeing."
According to the document, the number of homes vacant for 100 days or more have increased by 27 per cent since April, from 52 to 66.
Sheffield's 'most unloved' council houses
40 Popple Street, Page Hall – 33 refusals, empty 435 days, rent loss £5,005
3 Heather Road, Wincobank – 33 refusals, empty 196 days, rent loss £2,699
6 Graves Trust Houses, Greenhill – 21 refusals, empty 112 days, rent loss £1,303
5 Graves Trust Houses, Greenhill – 20 refusals, empty 231 days, rent loss £2,612
21 Castledine Crescent, Castledine – 12 refusals, empty 133 days, rent loss £1,962