‘Use Empty Homes To Tackle Homelessness Crisis’, Say Brits

Seven out of 10 Brits believe that empty properties should be used to tackle the homelessness crisis, according to research by GoodMove. There are 288,539 empty houses in Britain, 75% of which are in England, 16% of which are in Scotland and 9% of which are in Wales. Shelter estimates that one in every 200 people in the UK are homeless, and there are around 95,000 households in temporary accommodation. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/use-empty-homes-to-tackle-homelessness-crisis-say-brits/ 

Council Tax: Empty Property – Parliamentary Written Answer

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities may extend the three month discount on council tax for empty properties. 

Mr Simon Clarke: The power to offer a council tax discount on empty properties is at the discretion of local authorities who can determine both the level of the discount and the length of time that it should be applied

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-05-11/45154

Landlords Call For Council Tax Relief On Empty Homes

Landlords are calling on Ministers to tell local authorities that they should not charge council tax on rented homes left empty because of coronavirus. A significant number of rented homes have been left empty because tenants have been unable to take up tenancies, or have chosen to move out to be closer to family during the lockdown. During this period landlords will become liable for the council tax on the property and have no realistic prospect of finding new tenants. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/landlords-call-for-council-tax-relief-on-empty-homes/ 

Scandal Of Birmingham's 4,575 Empty Private Homes - As 13,000 On Housing Waiting List

Birmingham tops a government list for having the most empty homes in England. Around 13,000 people are on the housing waiting list - as enforcement officers battle to reclaim private homes left to rot across the city. The city has 4,575 long-term empty homes - a 6.8 percent on the year before. The statistics were taken from government-published empty homes data. Across England, the number of long-term vacant properties rose 4.5 per cent to 225,845 in the 12 months to October 2019. Read more on the Birmingham Live website.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/scandal-birminghams-4575-empty-private-17994809

Short-Term Lets Could See Tenants Leave 500,000 Properties

Nearly half a million properties could be left unavailable for residents looking to rent in the private rented sector, as more landlords exit the market and move into short-term lets due to the raft of legislative changes they have been faced with. ARLA Propertymark, in partnership with leading research consultancy Capital Economics, has launched its Impact of Short-Term Lets report, which looks at the scale of the UK’s short-term lets sector and the wider implications on the private rented sector. Download the report from the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/media/1048597/the-impact-of-short-term-lets.pdf

Council Seizes Empty Properties In Bid To Tackle Homelessness

Birmingham city council has seized seven houses from their owners – because they have been empty for more than 10 years. The unkempt buildings were described by the council as “eyesore properties”. It was announced that all of the property owners were served with Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) – meaning the authority can exercise ‘enforcement powers to get the properties brought back into use as family homes’. The seized homes will now be sold as leasehold at auction, with the provision that the new owners bring them back into use within a year. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-seizes-empty-properties-in-bid-to-tackle-homelessness/

Council Tax On Empty Houses Set To Rocket To Three Times Usual Fee

The owners of empty houses and flats and properties in Swindon could be facing a big bill come April. Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet has approved the idea that council tax on such properties which have lain empty for five years or more could be charged three times the rate of the same property if it was occupied. The plan is to encourage people to bring empty houses and flats back into use, and will be incorporated into next year’s council budget. Read more on the Swindon Advertiser website.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18099598.council-tax-empty-houses-swindon-set-rocket-three-times-usual-fee/

Call For Unoccupied Homes To House People On Waiting Lists

GMB call for local authorities to be given powers to use vacant dwellings left empty for prolonged periods to house people on housing waiting lists. Overall there is no alternative but for councils to increase the supply of council homes for rent at genuinely affordable rents, but using the already existing housing stock to house people is something that shouldn’t be overlooked, says GMB London In 2018 London had a total of 22,481 long-term vacant dwellings, 2,244 more than the year before. At the same time, in 2018 there were 232,409 households on Local Authority housing waiting lists. Read more on the GMB website.

https://www.gmblondon.org.uk/news/gmb-call-for-unoccupied-homes-to-house-people-on-waiting-lists

Almost £11 Billion-Worth Of London Housing Is Sitting Empty

A shocking £10.7 billion-worth of London housing is sitting empty, new research has found. According to a study of properties across Greater London some 22,481 homes are currently empty, despite a growing housing crisis. Since 1990 the proportion of 25 to 34 year-olds owning their own home in London has plunged from 57 per cent to 28 per cent. In June 1994 the average cost of a home in London stood at just £73,013, compared with £471,504 today, resulting in “generation rent” for many young residents. Read more on the London Economic website.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/property/almost-11-billion-worth-of-london-housing-is-sitting-empty/30/10/

Empty Homes In England Up By 11,000 Last Year

The number of empty homes in England increased by almost 11,000 last year, a study suggests, prompting calls for urgent action to bring them back into circulation to help tackle the housing crisis. Research by the pressure group Action on Empty Homes and Nationwide building society indicates that last year saw the fastest rise in long-term empty homes in England since the recession. The number increased by 5.3%, meaning an additional 10,983 homes were left empty, said the report. This was double the 2.6% rise in the previous year. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/23/empty-homes-in-england-up-by-11000-last-year-study-shows

Labour Bid To Seize Empty Homes And Squalid Rental Properties

Labour will discuss plans to allow councils to compulsorily purchase homes left empty for six months. Young Labour has submitted a motion to the party’s conference in Brighton that calls for the requisition of "unoccupied tower blocks in London" and cites Berlin and Vancouver as examples of where this has occurred. It goes on to state that Labour should "Requisition empty private homes by Compulsory Purchase Order...as well as the worst private rented sector properties and vacant land plots to conduct land assembly and to provide temporary accommodation."   Read more on Estate Agent Today.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/9/labour-bid-to-seize-empty-homes-and-poor-rental-properties

Number Of Empty Homes In England Rises To More Than 216,000

The number of empty homes across England has risen for the second consecutive year to more than 216,000, the highest level since 2012, according to official figures. The number of long-term vacant properties – those empty for at least six months – rose by 5.3% to 216,186 in the 12 months to October, according to the MHCLG. It is the highest level since 2012, when 254,059 properties were unoccupied. The rise compares with a 2.6% increase the previous year – before that, the number of empty homes had fallen every year since 2008. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/11/empty-homes-england-rises-property

Scandal Of Empty Family Homes Left To Rot By Owners For 20 YEARS

Hundreds of homes across Birmingham are being left to rot by owners – with some lying empty for more than TWENTY YEARS. Our shocking gallery of neglect shows just five of the privately-owned houses the city council is about to buy up after all attempts to get the owners to act were exhausted. They include a house in Livingstone Road, Perry Barr, that has been empty since 1997. It was last lived in when Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister and Aqua’s Barbie Girl topped the charts – and has been unloved for the 22 years that have passed since. Read more on Birmingham Live.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/scandal-empty-family-homes-left-15864946

Closing ALMOs Produces Mixed Results For Housing Services

The number of ALMOs has halved over the past decade, with a number of high-profile closures in the past two years. Local authorities often cite efficiency savings and performance improvements as reasons for taking the service back in house, but Inside Housing’s research suggests the picture is mixed. While some authorities saw improvements in areas such as tenant satisfaction, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) finances and re-let times for empty homes after shutting down their ALMOs, others have seen declines in performance. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/almo-closures-how-are-they-affecting-services-60071

How Can The Empty Housing Crisis In England Be Improved?

New research has shown that while England’s homelessness statistics are at a high, empty housing across the country is also on the increase. With austerity measures causing more people than ever to tighten their belts and private rent prices soaring, many English cities have seen a rise in the numbers of rough sleepers. Team that with the fact many properties lie empty and we are left with a crisis, in desperate need of change. The total empty homes in England is currently reported to lie at over 600,000. Research shows a minimum of 4,500 people slept rough on England’s streets last year. But what can be done to improve this drastic imbalance? Read more on the Open Access website.

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/empty-housing-crisis/57506/

Council Tax Hike Planned For Solihull's Empty Homes

Some empty homes in Solihull could see a council tax increase of up to 300 per cent as part of a push to get vacant houses back into use. Plans are being drawn up to impose new premiums on those properties which have been unoccupied for the longest periods of time. With increasing demand for housing across Solihull, the council hopes that a hike in bills might persuade owners to act. Figures from last month state that there are 1,212 empty homes in the borough. Read more on the Birmingham Live website.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/council-tax-hike-planned-solihulls-15676853

Empty Properties Will Be Seized For Homeless Families, Private Landlords Warned

No-nonsense housing bosses in Wolverhampton are warning private landlords that any homes in the city left empty for long periods of time will be seized and used to provide much-needed accommodation for homeless families. The city council’s ‘Empty Properties Strategy’ is designed to provide additional housing for people while at the same time generating additional civic income by reintroducing vacant properties to the market. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2019/01/09/wolverhampton-housing-bosses-warn-private-landlords/

400% Council Tax Hike Plan For Empty Home Owners

Empty home owners in Gloucester could face a 400% council tax rise as part of plans to help homeless families move out of temporary accommodation. Gloucester City Council says there are more than 150 families in temporary accommodation and 353 empty homes. Under the plans, homes empty for two years or more will see a 150% rise from April, while those empty for more than 10 years will see a 400% hike in 2021. The authority said it could raise £225,000 a year for services. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-46753012

Commons Majority On Tackling Empty Homes

A new poll shows significant parliamentary majority for action on empty homes as homeless families in temporary accommodation hits a 10-year high. Key findings include:

·         86% agreeing government should place a higher priority on tackling empty homes

·         Over 80% supporting targeted funding for councils, charities and local organisations to buy, lease or refurbish empty homes

·         68% believing landlords who own empty homes which have been vacant for more than a year should be required to bring them back into use

·         77% support for charging a council tax premium on empty homes after they have been empty for a year, rather than the current two years

Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/commons-majority-on-tackling-empty-homes/

Government Urged To Tackle 205,000 Long-Term Empty Homes

A campaign is calling on government to end the “national scandal” of hundreds of thousands of empty homes. Most recent data shows there are more than 605,000 empty homes in England and 205,000 of those are long-term empty homes, many to be found in areas that have experienced under-investment for a generation. The national Coalition for Community Investment, led by Action on Empty Homes, is calling on the Government to invest in areas with high levels of empty homes, to help community-based programmes bring these back into use for those in housing need. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/government-urged-to-tackle-205000-long-term-empty-homes-in-england/