Derelict Sites (Amendment) Bill 2021

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

Local authorities already have powers to step in when land is becoming or remaining derelict, and can recover the costs of doing the work. The change here would make those costs a charge on the land itself, so if the owner is an insolvent company and the site is sold, the local authority would have a better chance of being paid before unsecured creditors. It matters because it would strengthen councils’ ability to tackle derelict sites without losing out when a property company goes into liquidation.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to give security to local authorities, by way of creating a charge on the land concerned, in relation to the expenses incurred by the local authority in order to give effect to measures which the local authority considers to be necessary in order to prevent the land from becoming or continuing to be a derelict site, for that purpose to amend the Derelict Sites Act 1990, and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 2 May 2025