Property owners with empty houses in a poor state of repair may be eligible for grants of up to £3,000 thanks to South Kesteven District Council's Empty Homes Fund.

Kev Martin at SKDC said: "We estimate that there are around 1,000 empty houses in the district, many of them in such a poor state of repair that they cannot be rented to tenants.

"We launched the empty homes fund last autumn and we had a great response. We were able to issue £30,000 in funding and as a result ten previously empty homes are now available to private tenants. This is a real opportunity for anyone sitting on an empty house to get a significant boost towards bringing it back into use."

Any property which has been unoccupied and unfurnished for at least six months and complies with certain conditions could qualify for one of the grants. The closing date for applications is May 31, 2008, and application packs can be downloaded from www.south kesteven.gov.uk.

Further information is available from Toni Plumb on 01476 406325.