Empty homes leaflet

Empty Homes Toolkit

for

Parish and Town Councils

Contents

Introduction ........................................................ 1

What is an empty home? ...................................... 1

Why do homes become empty? ............................ 2

Why are empty homes a problem? ........................ 2

What can Torridge District Council do? .................. 3

Local authority powers and resources ................... 4

How Town and Parish Councils can assist Torridge

District Council with empty property work ............ 5

In summary .......................................................... 5

Checklist .............................................................. 6

Appendix 1: Risk Assessment Form ........................ 10

Appendix 2: Sample letters ................................... 12

1A Toolkit for Parish and Town Councils

Introduction As a Council you may have heard local people raising concerns about empty homes in your area and wondered if there is any way that you could help solve this problem locally. This guide is designed to help you begin to address this issue. Experience has shown that there is no guarantee of success in this area. However there are some basic actions that can be taken at a local level that might help address this concern in your community. These are described in this booklet.

What is an empty home?

This guide is concerned with properties that have been empty and unused for an extended period (usually 6 months or more). As well as homes, other properties (such as commercial premises and shops) can become a problem. We are mainly focussing on empty homes but some of the actions suggested may be applicable to other types of empty buildings as well.

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Why do homes become empty?

There are many reasons why homes become and remain empty including:

• Lack of funds for refurbishment • Reluctance to let out • Bankruptcy/repossession/abandonment • Long term care/hospitalisation • Waiting for refurbishment • Employment linked homes • Probate, estate or legal ownership issues • Lack of awareness of options • Inaction of owners unable to sell or let • For sale or in a property chain

Why are empty homes a problem?

Long-term empty homes can cause a number of problems for the owner and the surrounding neighbourhood (as well being a property that could provide an additional home in an area of housing need). Potential problems are:

• Attract crime and antisocial behaviour including fly tipping, arson, squatting. • Reduce the value of surrounding properties. • Cause physical damage to adjacent properties through lack of maintenance. • Become an eyesore in the neighbourhood. • Pose a threat to safety. • Become costly for the owner to maintain • A loss of council tax revenue.


What can Torridge District Council do?

Torridge District Council is committed to bringing long-term empty homes back into use. There are significant social, environmental and financial benefits advantages for everyone in the area from bringing empty homes back into use, in addition to increasing the stock of residential accommodation where housing demand outstrips housing supply. For instance:

• The owners benefit from unlocked capital or rental income. • Local residents benefit from reduced opportunities for vandalism, fly tipping and antisocial behaviour and the possible impact on house prices and pride in the area. • Bringing an empty home back into use can contribute to the regeneration of an area and may reduce demands on services such as the Police, Fire and the Council to deal with the associated problems.

Torridge District Council wants to work in partnership to deal with its empty premises. Given the limited resources available, networking with key players is essential. Elected Members and Town/Parish Councillors (and community stakeholders) are important partners in this endeavour.

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Local Authority powers and resources Crucially, the Council has very limited resources to put to this work. There is no dedicated officer and limited funding to pay for empty homes work. This situation is unlikely to improve as government funding plans have and continue to require a significant cut to the Council’s budget.

1. Informal advice and assistance: The Council believes that informal advice and assistance is the right first step to bring empty homes back into use. This includes providing written advice and information to the owner outlining the options, including establishing why the property is vacant and helping the owner return it to use within a reasonable timescale.

2. Financial assistance to owners: Financial assistance may be made available to owners in the form of loans to refurbish empty homes and return them to use. TDC runs a loan schemes that is administered by the Wessex Reinvestment Trust (£7,500 per property) and also is signed up to the National Empty Homes Loan Fund (£15,000 per property). Properties may be sold or let out after renovation, on the open rental market or as Affordable Housing or, in some cases, through the Council’s Private Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme.

Conditions will be attached to the loans requiring the applicant to enter into a legally binding agreement to ensure that it can be repaid over an appropriate timescale.

3. Enforcement action: The Council would prefer to work informally with owners to resolve the issues around empty homes and so avoid the need for formal action but in some cases there are formal enforcement options available. The Council has powers to take enforcement action only if an empty home is causing significant blight to an area, is unsafe or causing a statutory nuisance. Enforcement interventions must always be proportional to the risk presented by the empty home and to the likelihood that the home will return to useful occupation without public intervention. In taking action the Council must weigh up the risks, costs and benefits to the Council Tax payer. In some cases, if the risks and costs outweigh the benefits, it will not take action.


How Town and Parish Councils can assist Torridge District Council with empty homes

Local Councils can be extremely effective in assisting TDC with empty homes and can be a valuable resource in returning homes back into use. For example:

1. They are aware of which homes are an issue for their community

2. They can regularly monitor deterioration

3. They are often the first to be aware of a change in circumstances

4. They may know the owner and be able to take a more personal approach to finding out any hindrances or concerns which may be inhibiting the return of the home into use.

5. They can signpost owners of empty homes to TDC and the options available to them

6. They can keep the wider community informed of action being undertaken and manage the expectations of the community.

7. They can provide local information to help TDC to weigh up the risks, costs and benefits of further action (c.f. Empty Homes Checklist)

In SummaryIf empty homes are an issue in your community it is possible to act to alleviate this problem. There are no easy or quick solutions but success may be possible given persistence, patience and hard work. The checklist that follows will help you to get started and to remain focused on the issue.

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ChecklistThe following checklist can be used to help you to tackle empty homes in your community.

Make a start Tick

Are there empty homes you are aware of in your community?

Nominate one or two individuals who have the time and energy to push the project forward.

Should you talk to other Parish/Town Councils who have undertaken empty homes work in their community?

Engage your community – who should be involved?

The Parish Council. As the democratically elected body, the Parish Council should be central to the process.

The local District and County Councillors. It is important that Councillors are involved as they will be the natural link and champion with Housing Renewal services at Torridge District Council.

The community. It is essential that you engage widely with the community (through newsletters etc.) so they are aware of your interest and concern in this matter. They may be able to help you with identifying empty properties or contacting owners who have moved away.


Assess the scale of the problem Tick

Identify the empty homes in your Parish. If you are not sure if a home is empty refer to the Housing Renewal Team at Torridge District Council.

Advertise locally that you are about to undertake a survey of empty properties to ensure you have a full picture.

Gather information

This information can usually be gathered from talking to neighbours, the postman and other members of your community.

Useful information includes: • How long has the property been empty? • Who is the owner? • What is the owners address and other contact details? • Is there any information about the owners intentions e.g. are they going to sell, rent, etc.

Initial action that can be taken a solution does not seem to be imminent

Carry out a risk assessment to ascertain how serious a problem the empty property is (Risk assessment form in appendix 1).

Photograph the property illustrating the scale and nature of the problem(s).

Send a letter to owners asking for information about their plans and offering support and information. Enclose a leaflet about the support and loans available through Torridge District Council (Template letter 1 supplied in appendix 2 and leaflet available from TDC)

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Follow up action Tick

If after a reasonable length of time (e.g. 3 months) you have not received a response to your first letter take follow up actions. Write to the owners again or if possible speak to them on the phone or in person to find out if they intend to try to bring the property back into use and if there are any reasons why this might be taking longer than they hope. It may be that with assistance some barriers can be overcome. (Template letter 2 supplied in appendix 2).

Annual review with Torridge to assess the scale of the issue and develop a realistic plan of action. This could be:

1. The property is not bad enough for more intensive intervention. In this case continue to:

i. Monitor property periodically ii. Ensure that the owner and neighbours know you are monitoring

OR

2. The property is becoming a risk to others. In this case work with Torridge District Council to assess further to decide if the enforcement process should be triggered.

For more information please contact: Torridge District Council

Housing Renewal Tel: 01237 428848

Email: [email protected]


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Appendix 1Risk Assessment Form CRITERIA SCORE

(circle all that apply)

Length of time vacant

6 months - 2 yrs 2 yrs - 5 yrs More than 5yrs

1 2 3

Appearance Minor detriment to amenity Major detriment to amenity

3 5

Dangerous Structure

Likely with further deterioration Yes

2 5

NuisanceNone Minor Significant

0 3 5

Overgrown Garden

No Yes

0 3

Appearance of surrounding properties

Good Fair Poor

5 3 2

Marketability/Habitability

Saleable in present condition Needs some improvement/repair Needs substantial renovation before occupation Not repairable at reasonable cost

0 1 3

5

OwnershipContactable and responsive Contactable but not responsive Not contactable/ not able to trace

1 3 5

Owners attitude

Non compliant/ uncooperative/not known Some cooperation or compliance Willing and compliant

5 3 1


Social Impact

Incidents of arson/fire Incidents of fly tipping Infestation by vermin Associated with ASB Incidents of squatters

5 3 3 5 3

Housing Need High Housing Need Average Housing Need Low Housing Need

5 3 0

Band Risk Action

High

More than 30 points

If any property is deemed to be unsafe or a hazard in any way the Housing Renewal Technical Officer will visit to carry out a more in-depth risk assessment and decide appropriate action with the other relevant TDC officers. The local council will be involved in this discussion and kept fully informed about actions taken and outcomes. TDC will explore what action can be taken.

Medium 20-30 points

Regular written communication with the owners setting out advice to encourage the owner to bring the property back into use. Regular observation of property in order to monitor and respond to any deterioration.

Low

Less than 20 points

Emphasis will be on advice and information to support and encourage the owner to take voluntary action to bring the property back into use.

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Appendix 2

Template Letter 1

Dear Owner of Property,

Re: Address of property

I am writing to you because I understand that this property owned by you has been empty for over 6 months.

Name Parish Council is working with Torridge District Council to help bring empty properties back into use and would like to discuss with you what assistance might be helpful to you in bringing your empty property back into use.

I have enclosed an Empty Homes Leaflet for your information and I would be grateful if you could contact me about your plans for this property and how we could work together to resolve this issue.

Yours sincerely


Template Letter 2

Dear Owner of Property,

Re: Address of property

A letter and leaflet was sent to you some time ago in regard to the above long term empty property. No response was received. I am therefore wiring to you again to enquire about your intentions for this property.

Name Parish Council is concerned about a number of empty properties in this parish and for this reason is working with Torridge District Council to build up a picture of the types and size of empty properties, including their condition, reasons why they are empty and most importantly what owners’ plans are for their reuse. The information received will help us to assist owners and Torridge District Council in bringing properties back into use. We are aware that your property has been unoccupied for ????? . [If there are specific concerns about the appearance e.g. disrepair, damp attracting vermin, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour etc. mention that here] Bringing empty homes back into use is one of Torridge District Council’s objectives. The District Council aims to work with the owners to bring empty properties back into use, primarily by providing advice, however where it is not possible to achieve reoccupation through voluntary means statutory powers may be required.

It would be very helpful if you could contact me regarding this property and your plans for its future.

Many thanks for your assistance.

Yours sincerely

Produced by the Community Council of Devon in partnership with Torridge District Council.

Community Council of Devon, First Floor, 3 & 4 Cranmere Court, Lustleigh Close, Matford Business Park, Exeter EX2 8PW

t: 01392 248919 e: [email protected] www.devonrcc.org.uk

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Please call 01392 248919.

Documents

Empty homes leaflet