The Brighton skyline THE council has taken much longer to bring its empty homes back into use over the past year and blamed the coronavirus. The average number of days that council houses and flats stood empty between tenants leaving and new ones arriving increased to 135 days from 43 days, according to a new report. More than 200 council properties changed hands in the year to the end of March – and almost 450 in the 2019-20 financial year. The issue was raised by residents’ representatives at the Brighton and Hove City Council housing management panels that were held this week. Roy Crowhurst, who chairs the residents’ association for Woods House, in Sackville Road, Hove, a council block for over-55, was one those to speak out.