Sisters face ultimatum over inherited house
Published: 21 January, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
TWO sisters will lose an empty house they inherited unless they can satisfy Islington Council that it will be occupied.
The borough has agreed to issue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on the three-storey house in Cornwallis Road, Archway. The authority has the power to take over empty properties under legislation aimed at cutting homelessness. The council’s executive committee approved the CPO last Thursday but it will take three months before it is finalised.
Owner Adwoa Kusi-Appauh pleaded with the committee for more time to refurbish the house so it can be occupied by her sister, who is joint owner.
The council first contacted the sisters in March 2007, urging them to use the property. Ms Kusi-Appauh said the house needed extensive work before her sister could move in. The work had been delayed by problems with squatters and builders.
Labour housing chief Councillor James Murray stressed that the CPO paperwork would take three months, during which the sisters would have a chance to start the work and persuade the council to relent.