Enforced Sales Procedure is an existing power carried out under S103 of Law of Property Act 1925. It has been adopted by a number of local authorities across the Country as an effective way of dealing with long term empty properties where the owner cannot be traced or is unwilling to work with the local authority to bring the property back into occupation.
An enforced sale can only be carried out where the local authority has placed a local land charge on the property. This would be carried out if the local authority has undertaken Works in Default action (where the local authority has paid for works to be done in lieu of the owner who is unwilling to act or is untraceable).
The owner is given the opportunity to repay to debt prior to sale. If the monies are not paid within a specified period of time the local authority can effectively act as a mortgagee and bring the property to sale on the open market at an auction or to a preferred buyer. All charges would be cleared from the proceeds of the sale, allowing the council to recover the cost of the works previously carried out and the remainder would be paid to the owner.