THE team tasked with bringing Bradford's empty houses back into use have won a national award.

Bradford Council’s housing team recently won two awards at the National Empty Homes Network Conference.

The authority won both the ‘Meeting the Challenge’ Award for its work in tackling empty homes, and the Innovation Award for developing Sharia-approved equity loans for the owners of empty properties.

Judges praised Bradford’s Empty Homes Team for the individual approach taken to all cases and the wide variety of options offered to empty homes owners within the district.

Going the extra mile in offering Sharia-approved equity loans for empty property owners was marked out by judges as a good way of reaching a potentially excluded portion of the empty home owner market.

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Last year a member of the housing team won the Empty Property Practitioner of the Year Award.

Bradford Council’s Empty Homes Team works with and receives significant support from officers across the authority including those in Legal Services and Estate Management.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We are thrilled that the excellent work of this multi-award winning team has again been recognised as the best in the UK.

“I want to thank the team for all their hard work and dedication to bringing empty properties back into use.”

Bradford Council’s Empty Homes Team works with and receives significant support from officers across the authority including those in Legal Services and Estate Management.