LANDLORDS who “can't be bothered” to look after empty properties are stopping a Hampshire city from providing affordable homes for families, according to its housing chief.

Cllr Ian Tait said many empty properties in Winchester, including a “boarded up crackhouse” in the city centre, could be used to boost the city's stock of cut-price flats and houses.

More than 400 properties in the district have been empty for more than six months, according to council tax records.

Housing bosses are considering an official drive to tackle empty homes, Cllr Tait told the city council's full meeting on Thursday.

The scheme could include advice for owners, incentives to restore or sell properties and even compulsory purchase orders, he said, adding that bringing homes into repair is “hard work”.

He said: “We had an octogenarian who did not want to do anything at all [with her empty property] and we had to interview under caution. There are some risks to local authority when we are effectively threatening criminal action to a property owner.”

Cllr Dominic Hiscock raised concerns that many destitute homes could be used for affordable housing. Civic chiefs have repeatedly said that affordable rates are central to their housing strategy.

Cllr Tait said: “It's not just frustrating - I find it incredibly disappointing when housing which is in the affordable bracket is left empty.

“What we don't want to do is name and shame, because I think that's counterproductive, but putting pressure on registered providers to ensure that they use the stock for the purpose that it's there for is an important issue.”

After the meeting, Cllr Tait told the Chronicle that A2Dominion housing “can't be bothered to maintain” its empty flats by the railway station, which include a former drug den which was closed by police in 2012.

He said: “When you come out from the station, the first thing you see is a boarded up crackhouse. That's not what Winchester is about.”