The Government’s Exceptional Hardship Scheme was launched in August 2011. The scheme aims to help certain categories of people who are having difficulty selling their property because of HS2 and who can demonstrate that they have an urgent need to sell before a final decision has been reached about the precise route.
It is open to
- residential owner-occupiers
- owner-occupiers of agricultural units
- owner-occupiers of business premises with an annual rateable value not exceeding £34,800
- mortgagees (i.e. Banks and Building Societies) with a right to sell a property and who can give immediate vacant possession
- personal representatives of a deceased person who had a qualifying interest at the time of death
but excludes properties over tunnelled sections of the route, unless the property is near the proposed tunnel entrance or exit.
It is limited to those who have a pressing need to sell and who would otherwise experience exceptional hardship, and allows those people to apply for their properties to be bought by the Secretary of State for Transport.
Further details and an application form are available on HS2 Ltd’s website.
The Government proposes to consult in Spring 2012 on a new package of compensation measures for those affected by blight. Further details should be available soon.
