Empty Properties
Long-term empty properties are a waste of money for their owners and a waste of a valuable resource for the community.
Empty properties are a magnet for vandals and petty criminals, they can become a danger to children and their gardens frequently attract litter and other rubbish.
Houses left unoccupied can fall into disrepair quite quickly, becoming a blight on the neighbourhood and having an adverse effect on the values and saleability of surrounding properties.
An empty house can cost the owner up to £6,000 a year in lost income, security costs, de-valuation and council tax charges.
What can we do?
Our aim is to work with owners to bring empty homes back into productive use by providing:
- advice
- guidance
- encouragement
- financial assistance
What action can we take?
Where properties are detrimental to the area and efforts to encourage owners to bring the property back into use have failed, we will use enforcement action as a last resort. This action can take three forms:
- Enforced Sale – owners who owe us money can be made to sell empty houses, usually through an auction. We will recover monies owed and pay the original owner the remainder - the new owner can then put the house to good use.
- Compulsory Purchase Order – if an owner continually refuses to co-operate and it is in the public interest, then we can take ownership of a property to ensure it is put back into use. The owner receives compensation for loss of the house.
- Empty Dwelling Management Order – we take over management of a house for up to 7 years, carry out any refurbishment that is required and let the house out.
With so many people on our waiting lists for accommodation, we are anxious to help bring long-term empty properties back into occupation.
Full information on our plan for dealing with long-term empty properties can be found in our Empty Homes Strategy which is available to download below.
Can we help you?
If you have a property that has been empty for more than 12 months, or know of one, we would like to hear from you. We may be able to help with renting or selling the property.
Any questions?
The Empty Homes website is packed with useful advice or you can contact us direct for more information, our details are below.
Downloads
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