Local authorities have traditionally had a number of powers to force abandoned buildings back into use, most notably the power of compulsory purchase and enforced sale. In the first of these cases, the property is purchased by the council; in the second, the owner is compelled to offer it for sale in the open market. However, both of these required a forcible change of ownership, and especially with an enforced sale, there was no guarantee that the building would actually be put back into use.
