Swindon residents are voicing their confusion regarding the council’s approach to managing some vacant council houses in the town.

Swindon Borough Council are responsible for over 10,000 properties in the area that are set aside as social housing for those in need.

However, several residents have noticed unoccupied properties in their communities that they believe could be used as accommodation.

A Swindon mother-of-two has faced an uphill battle to find a new home for her family since having to leave their private rental home in July due to a no-fault eviction.

Wishing to remain anonymous, she said: "After being evicted, my children and I were placed in a hotel by the Council for seven weeks and have since been moved to an apartment.

"Although I am grateful to have somewhere, we are all sleeping in one room with my daughter and I sharing a bed."

Attempts to contact the council in the hope of finding more permanent accommodation have fallen on deaf ears.

"I was constantly getting people telling me of empty council houses and asking me why I couldn't have one of those.

"So I asked the council if I could take one in its current condition and do any work required myself at my own cost, but I was ignored.

"I had to find out through my local MP that the council had very stringent rules as to who and when they could allocate these properties."

She says she has since seen empty properties in Beech Avenue, Pinehurst Road and Penhill Drive that have been empty for between one and six months, as well as being informed of many more from others on social media.

“It is criminal when we have working families being told there is nowhere to live.”

Jo Woodward has observed first-hand how long certain council properties have been left unoccupied in Wroughton in the last year.

Mrs Woodward, 54, said: “My husband’s aunt passed away in January, and the council house she lived in on Weirside Avenue is still empty now. The former property of a neighbour who also passed away in January is also still available.”

“A nearby bungalow was left empty for three months after the tenant moved out because they couldn’t afford the council’s rates of rent.”

Mrs Woodward says she cannot understand why her husband’s aunt’s house has not been reallocated to someone in need, considering how quickly she and her husband were asked to clear the property.

“We were given a month by the council to empty the property, which we then did within a week. Apart from some mould in one bedroom and behind a washing machine, I couldn’t see any issues with the house.

“Surely living in a marginally substandard property has to be preferable to living on the street, or paying god knows how much to house people in hotels.”

A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: “There are always council properties that will be empty at any one time and these can be for a variety of reasons. It may be because tenants have moved on, while some properties remain empty for longer as they are part of wider refurbishment programmes.

“In some cases, homes take longer to fill because they are being kept vacant for suitable adult social care placements.

“However, we are not turning around empty homes so they are ready for occupation as quickly as we would like and we are in the process of procuring a new contractor to help us with that so more homes are available for those that need them.”

Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander said: " I am acutely aware of the significant difficulties that some people have in finding affordable homes in Swindon and I appreciate how frustrating it is to see any properties sat empty."

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