18 September 2012 Last updated at 11:18 ET

Cherwell District Council offers grants to repair homes

The work must mean the homes reach the Decent Homes Standard

Landlords in Oxfordshire are being offered grants of up to £15,000 to renovate their homes and rent them to council tenants.

Cherwell District Council is providing the incentive to bring unused houses back on to the rental market.

The money will be available to fund up to three quarters of work needed, to a total of £12,000 in Banbury or £15,000 in Bicester and Kidlington.

In return landlords must agree to rent the property to council tenants.

People taking grants of £6,000 or less will be required to make a two-year commitment to the council while grants at the top end will have to take council tenants for a five-year period.

Landlords with properties in villages can also apply to the scheme.

The agreed work must mean the homes reach the Decent Homes Standard, which is a technical standard for public housing in the UK.

Councillor Debbie Pickford, Cherwell's lead member for housing, said: "On the one hand we have people who, for no fault of their own, are struggling to make ends meet.

"On the other hand we have people who own properties which are sitting vacant because they cannot afford to bring them up to a standard suitable to let.

"By helping bring those homes back into use, we can create new income for the owner, house people who are otherwise at risk of being homeless and improve the standard of private sector housing into the bargain."