A new report aims to help bring vacant properties back into use
Against a backdrop of increasing housing demand, bringing empty homes back into use can play a key part in local strategies to meet housing need.
Not only are empty homes a wasted resource, they are often the subject of complaints and frustration for communities, as well as a catalyst for crime and degradation.
Councils across England are deemed to be best placed to tackle the issue of empty homes by encouraging and supporting their owners to bring them back into use, and by enforcement action where their condition is detrimental to a neighbour or community.
However, while some councils have dedicated teams, officers or departments to carry out this service, dealing with an empty home is not a statutory function.
New research from the LGA and the Empty Homes Network has identified that councils largely take a reactive approach to dealing with empty homes, tackling issues and complaints as they are received and when resources allow.
While some councils operate a wholly proactive approach by targeting challenging cases and taking time to cleanse housing data and reduce numbers, many councils – because of their capacity and resources – do not have the opportunity to do both.
We believe a shift in mindset, through increasing the ability for councils to be more proactive in their approach, will widely see the numbers of empty homes reduced.
Although understanding that council pressures mean that non-statutory functions are less of a priority, our report recommends that councils should, as a minimum, consider employing a dedicated empty homes officer, or explore the opportunities that dual roles with other relevant functions could provide.
‘A practical approach for councils on dealing with empty homes’ contains case studies exploring different approaches that councils have taken to this issue, and its recommendations are intended to provoke thought and action, and to support councils to think differently.
It suggests councils could consider broadening their definition and remit of empty homes work to include homes left empty for less than six months to reduce the flow of properties reaching that mark, as well as exploring the opportunities offered by second and unoccupied exempt homes.
It also suggests empowering officers through tools readily available to councils, such as allowing access to read-only council tax data and delegating enforcement powers directly to empty homes officers, as more than a third of those surveyed for this research did not have the authority to do so.
Several best practice tools are proposed with the intention of improving data recording and accuracy, including the implementation of an empty homes database, a guide for the progression of cases, and an information-source checklist to identify knowledge gaps.
Of the empty homes practitioners surveyed, 23 per cent were not aware of whether their empty homes statistics reported through the council taxbase were accurate. The best practice tools and approaches set out in our report aim to go some way to fixing this.
In exploring the numbers, resources and best practice elements of empty homes, it is hoped the report will encourage councils with existing empty homes officers to continue to develop their work further.
We also hope it will help councils that currently don’t have dedicated officers to begin exploring the issues, and help equip them to bring much-needed empty homes back into use.
- ’A practical approach for councils on dealing with empty homes’ can be downloaded for free at the LGA website. With more than 700 individual members, the Empty Homes Network is the prominent voice, support and resource community for empty homes officers and practitioners across the country.