Mansfield District Council is encouraging the owners of hundreds of empty homes in the district to find out how they can make the most of their property.

A free event, “Use Don’t Lose”, is being held on Wednesday 23 March at the headquarters of Newark and Sherwood District Council at Kelham Hall, near Newark, to give owners the chance to network with contacts in the property industry in Nottinghamshire to find out how best to bring an empty property back into use.

In the Mansfield District Council area, records show there are about 900 homes in the district that have been empty for at least six months.

The council has sent invitations to “Use Don’t Lose” to the owners of around 200 properties in the area which have been empty for more than a year but anyone with an empty property is being encouraged to attend.

The event is aimed at anyone with an interest in property, including investors, tenants, developers, lettings experts, estate agents and other experts in the property field.

Among them will be the empty property officer from Mansfield District Council who can offer advice, such as making use of the council’s MARS (Multi Agency Rented Solutions) scheme.

This scheme provides good quality private rented homes for people in Mansfield and surrounding areas by matching families to properties. People can apply for a MARS property if they are at risk of losing their home, have no settled accommodation and/or are in housing need.

Owners attending could also find out how to turn their empty property into a regular income or lump sum or to renovate it.

The experts on hand will be able to answer questions about how best to sell a property, how to let it, how to deal with difficult tenants, legal issues, tax implications, refurbishment problems and other issues such as anti-social behaviour, arson, cannabis farms, squatters, vandalism, graffiti and fly tipping.

There will also be free seminars during the day on various topics.

Mansfield District Council Portfolio Holder for Housing Cllr Barry Answer said: “Helping to reduce the number of empty properties in the district would be a win-win situation for everyone.

“It would make more homes available for local people to buy or rent, it would reduce the problem of empty properties falling into disrepair which can be an eyesore for an area, and for the owners it could bring a decent return on a building that is currently delivering nothing to them.”

He added: “There are many reasons why a property can be empty. Sometimes there are emotional ties when a property used to belong to a person’s parents. Sometimes a property can be empty because the owner has run out of money to renovate it.

“This event may help owners find ways round any problems they may be having and to help them to get a better investment return from their property rather than have a building standing empty.”

Anyone interested in attending the event or advertising a property at it should contact David Turton at [email protected] or call 01636 655610.