Hmmm thanks margaret for the mention
although I don't have anything to do with Hyndburn Homes as most of you know I work for Twin valley homes which was also a council stock transfer... but we are over 6 years down the line now...
As for empty properties not seeming to be let..there could be a few answers to that one...
1. as graham jones said the relet repairs may be beyond the coffers at the mo
2. The tenant has not given notice so the HH are not aware there is no-one living there (especialy if rent is still being paid via housing benefit)
3. HH are aware it is empty but are unable to just go in and change the locks, they have to serve a "notice to quit" which is min of 28 days and then they sometimes have to apply to the courts to change the locks and take possession.
4. The property although no one living there is being used as a mail drop and the tenant is still claiming housing benefit
No matter what the reason someone needs to report the empty properties to HH just in case they are not aware it is not been lived in!!
As for building new social housing we have done so for the past couple of years and I would imagine regardless of what the "conservative" council would like the housing corp via (what used to be the office of the deputy prime minister) odpm is keen for this kind of housing to be built and offer quite generous grants in regeneration areas... the likes which I can see is happening around the church traffic light area.
As for the lettings of properties we operate a different system to hyndburn but I would imagine that they will follow suit quite soon