Extra council cash for Orlit homes grab 'still not good enough' (From Sutton Guardian)

Extra council cash for Carshalton Orlit homes grab 'still not good enough'

9:00am Friday 22nd March 2013 in News By James Pepper

The councils offer of an extra £35,000 to tempt pensioners to sell their homes back to them has received a mixed reception.

At Monday's (March 18) Strategy and Resources Committee meeting, councillors agreed to give the owners of Orlit properties an extra £35,000 each, but with conditions.

The properties have been deemed defective by legislation - the same legislation which Sutton Council claimed it was bound by when it offered between £140,000 and £145,000 to 20 home owners for their three bedroom houses with gardens.

But now home owners have been offered an extra £35,000 each after complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman.

The payment of the relocation grant is at the council discretion and applicants must "have a clear inability to afford to take out a mortgage or loan to help buy another property" in order to qualify.

Vice-chairman of the Orlit Home Owners Association, a group set up by the home owners, Christine Hillege, said: "It's still not enough to buy a similar property in the area. It's movement in the right direction by the council, but not everyone will get the grant, so it's not fair."

Councillor Jayne McCoy, Sutton Council's housing spokesman, said: "The point of the policy is to offer home owners another option in line with their feedback.

"We have listened to freeholders' concerns about the limitations of the swap option and worked very hard to find a satisfactory solution."