Barnsley Council is set to spend millions on buying houses that will be demolished to make way for new homes.
The scheme, which would see 30 terraced homes in Goldthorpe lost, is part of a wider project to build new, energy-efficient council houses.
The local authority may have to use its compulsory purchasing powers to buy some of the properties.
The council offered market value for the homes, plus a further 7.5% of their value, as a “basic loss payment”.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it has so far purchased 14 houses on Co-Operative Street and Victoria Street, with the owners selling voluntarily.
But the council has been unable to determine the owners at a further 16 properties it intends to buy.
More than £1.7m has been set aside for purchase costs, with £441,000 spent compensating homeowners.
