Innovation Information Inspiration

The Empty Homes Conference 2017

With sponsorship from

Conference web-page: www.ehnetwork.org.uk/2017Conference

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 2

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 3

The Empty Homes Conference 2017 – Programme of the Day

in ACCELERATE

9:00 10:00

Chair's welcome Nick Pritchard-Gordon

Reading Borough Council10:00 -10:05

Guardians and Guardian Firms

Building a better Property Guardian

industry

Simon Finneran

Ad Hoc Property Management

Rex Duis

Property Guardians UK

10:05 -10:35 in PROCEED

10:35 -10:40

The challenge of empty homes

Dialogue with practitioners

Helen Williams

Empty Homes Agency10:40 -11:10

Thinking big about empty homes

Opportunities to speed up property

provision

Martin Yardley

Coventry City Council

Coventry & Warks. LEP

11:10 -11:35

Probate and empty homes

Finding the way through

Kerry Morgan-Gould / Vicki

Green

Ashfords LLP

11:35 -12:15Rural Empty Homes Strategy panel

Doing a lot with a l ittle

Will Abë, Lynne Leach

North Norfolk, South Lakeland

12:15 -12:20The law of unintended consequences

Avoiding heir hunter horror stories in

intestacies

Carolyn Lord

L B and Co Solicitors12:20 -12:50

The Practitioner Surgery

Enforcement, loans, grants…and

more

Andrew Lavender

Housing Training and Law

Consultancy

12:50 -13:50

EMPTY HOMES AWARDS 201613:50 - 14:05

Empty Property Fraud

How to spot it, how to prevent it

Julie Jenkins

Land Registry14:05 -14:35 in PROCEED

14:35 -14:40

New Homes Bonus

What the changes mean

David Gibbens

Empty Homes Network14:40 -15:10

VAT and empty homes

What you need to know

Tamara Habberley

The VAT People

15:10 -15:40

Community-led solutions

'State of the Nation' review

Jon Fitzmaurice

self-help-housing.org15:40 -16:10

Information is the key

How NAFN can help

Nicola Corless

NAFN Data and Intell igence

Services

16:10 -16:15Making the case for an Empty Homes

Officer

Tips from one who succeeded!

David Sanderson

Carlisle City Council16:15 -16:45

The Plymouth approach

20 years of experience

Thelma Cunningham

Housing Delivery Officer

(Empty Homes Manager)

16:45 16:45

Thank You and Close Conference Chair 16:45 16:50

REGISTRATION / BREAKFAST

RESTAURANT LUNCH

Assemble

REFRESHMENTS

Change over

RESTAURANT LUNCH

Change over

REFRESHMENTS

Change over

RE-ASSEMBLE

Change over

REFRESHMENTS

Empty Homes Practitioner of the Year

Sponsored by Kent No Use Empty

Presented by Steve Grimshaw, NUE

Change over

REFRESHMENTS

Change over

Innovation Award sponsored by Empty Property

Solutions Ltd. (Carson Millican)

Presented by Nick Pritchard-Gordon, EHNetwork

Excellence in Information Award sponsored

by Destin Solutions Ltd

Presented by Duncan Baxter of Destin

Best Before-and-After Photo Award

sponsored by Cromwood Social

Presented by Abdus Saleh of Cromwood

2017

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 4

Conference Programme Overview

The themes of our 2017 Conference cover all the bases: ‘state-of-the-nation’

reviews, partnership working, new tools and services for practitioners, best

practice – and quite a bit about minimising risks.

Note: this is a draft programme. We have confirmation in principle from all

organisations. Speaker details remain to be finalised in one or two cases.

Guardians and guardian firms: Building a better Property Guardian industry – a

dialogue.

Rex Duis, a property guardian for over 7 years, is so keen to see higher standards he

put his proposals into a detailed Charter. And Ad Hoc Property Management are

keen to challenge the race to the bottom and drive out cowboy operators. Rex and

Simon Finneran of Ad Hoc discuss the balance that needs to be achieved.

The challenge of empty homes: Dialogue with practitioners

Helen Williams, Chief Executive of our champions the Empty Homes Agency, will

offer insight into the challenges she faces and discuss with the delegates how we can

work together to achieve our common goals.

Thinking big about empty homes: Opportunities to speed up property provision

Martin Yardley is Deputy Chief Executive (Place) for Coventry City Council and Chief

Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP and will provide the strategic

management perspective on tackling empties, which has been one of his long-term

interests.

Probate and empty homes: Finding the way through

They can be the ultimate challenge - long-term empties caught up in probate limbo.

But there are solutions: Kerry Morgan-Gould and Vicki Green, solicitors at Ashfords

LLP, hack a path through the jungle.

Rural Empty Homes Strategy panel: Doing a lot with a little

Tackling rural empty homes poses special challenges. Our panel of Will Abë (North

Norfolk - last year's Innovation Award winner) and Lynne Leach (South Lakeland) will

share their experiences in dialogue with the audience.

New Homes Bonus: What the changes mean

Suddenly there is less New Homes Bonus. David Gibbens is the Network's

resident specialist on this topic. He'll explain the ins and outs of the new regime

and why it still makes sense to invest in empty homes teams.

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 5

Conference Overview (continued)

Community-led solutions: 'State of the Nation' review

As Director of self-help-housing.org. Jon Fitzmaurice has been a key figure in

promoting the role of community-led organisations in bringing empties back

into use. Jon's state-of-the-nation review spells out the current opportunities

and challenges for voluntary organisations and local authority alike.

Empty Property Fraud: How to spot it, how to prevent it

Empty homes, disengaged owners - it's a perfect recipe for fraud. Julie Jenkins

of the Land Registry highlights the risks - and how you can help minimise them.

The Practitioner Surgery: Enforcement, loans, grants…and more

Andrew Lavender of Housing Training and Law Consultancy Ltd. will offer his ever-

popular Practitioner Surgery where he is guaranteed to be able to answer cases at the

hard end - including queries around enforcement, loans, grants - and, come to think

of it, just about anything else you care to mention.

VAT and empty homes: What you need to know

We know there are special VAT rules for empties. But what are they exactly, and how

do you avoid the pitfalls? Tamara Habberley of the VAT People provides expert

insight.

Information is the key: How NAFN can help

NAFN Data and Intelligence Services offers a gold-mine of information to its

subscribers. It's a little-known resource that can help with anything from

maximising New Homes Bonus to finding missing owners. Service Manager

Nicola Corless explains what's on offer.

Making the case for an Empty Homes Officer: Tips from one who succeeded!

Is your empty homes role precarious? Despite austerity, David Sanderson of Carlisle

City Council recounts how he has been there, done it and got the tee-shirt, by

providing the evidence to make his temporary job permanent. Vital for LA

practitioners and managers alike.

The Plymouth approach: 20 years of experience

This year’s exemplar empty homes strategy features Thelma Cunningham, who has led

Plymouth City Council's effort for the last 15 years.

LATE ADDITION TO THE PROGRAMME

The Law of Unintended Consequences: Avoiding heir hunter horror stories in

intestacies

Solicitor Carolyn Lord of L and B Solicitors provides case histories exposing the

risks to heirs – and local authorities - if heir hunters are given exclusive

information in intestacies. She highlights the need for competition.

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 6

Empty Homes Conference 2017:

Our speakers

Empty Homes Officer Reading Borough Council Chair of Empty Homes Network

Conference Chair

Nick Pritchard-Gordon During his decade with Reading, Nick has worked in Housing Strategy, Older People’s Services and since 2008, in Environmental Health. His current mixed bag of work includes empty homes, landlord accreditation, procurement for Housing Management Orders and developing responses for the ‘chronically disorganised’. This eclectic job specification is the apogee of a career that has involved planting trees, fitting septic tanks, duck farming, regeneration, energy conservation and rat catching. He is the proud owner of a 1997 Chartermark pledge-pin.

Managing Director Ad Hoc Property Management

Guardians and Guardian Companies Building a better Property Guardian industry

Simon Finneran Founded over 20 years ago in the Netherlands and setting up in the UK in 2006, Ad Hoc’s vision is that every vacant property in the UK – be it residential or commercial – is secure and available for people to live or work in and, in doing so, we help to make communities thrive. Since joining the company in 2014, Simon has been at the forefront of pushing through increased best practice standards across the organisation and by launching Ad Hoc’s Respect For Guardians Charter in early 2016 is pushing for improved standards across the industry.

Founder Property Guardians UK

Guardians and Guardian Companies Building a better Property Guardian industry

Rex Duis Rex has been a property guardian since October 2009. In January 2015 he founded Property Guardians UK to provide support for guardians and campaign for regulation in the industry. In October 2016 he released a detailed Draft Charter of Regulations based on his experience and those of contributors to his site which got the attention of the Greater London Authority and the media. He would like to see HMO standards applied to guardianship and is currently working on a project to create a security deposit scheme to protect guardians’ money and create recommended guidance documents for councils.

Chief Executive Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Deputy Chief Executive (Place) Coventry City Council

The Strategic View How the empty homes issue looks to senior managers

Martin Yardley Martin is a Chartered Town Planner with a specialist interest in how planning can enable economic growth and development. During his time as a planner he has worked for both the public and private sectors in roles as diverse as Head of Planning and Sustainability in Leicestershire and adviser to a house builder within the East Midlands. As Director of Place at Coventry he heads a team with around 2,000 FTEs with responsibilities ranging from street cleansing to delivering a £9bn regeneration agenda. As Chief Executive of Coventry and Warwickshire LEP he oversees an agency which places or influences in excess of £300m into the local economy. To add to his professional qualifications Martin has completed a Masters in Business Administration at Warwick University..

Chief Executive Empty Homes Agency

Keynote session What next for empty homes? A dialogue with practitioners

Helen Williams Helen joined the Empty Homes Agency as chief executive at the end of April 2014 having previously worked as an assistant director at the National Housing Federation and across a range of roles in housing associations, central and local government. She is a passionate advocate of practical ideas where housing markets and ways of working do not serve people well and believes solutions work best where they involve and build on the strengths of individuals and communities. She has a proven track record of devising ideas that work, influencing national policy and the actions of housing providers.

With sponsorship from

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 7

Our speakers (continued)

Legal Director and Solicitor (Disputed Wills, Trusts and Estates Team) Ashfords Solicitors LLP

Probate and empty homes Finding the way through

Kerry Morgan-Gould Kerry advises private individuals, trust corporations, charities and trustees in relation to all matters arising out of contentious Wills, Trusts and Estates, and contentious Court of Protection matters. Issues include: the validity of wills or trust instruments; will construction and rectification claims; claims against personal representatives and trustees, including applications for their removal/replacement; claims for financial provision from an estate; proprietary estoppel claims; claims in relation to lifetime transactions on the basis that they are void for lack of capacity, undue influence or fraud; and professional negligence claims relating to trusts and estates. Kerry regularly delivers training on the latest developments in the sector and is an accomplished conference speaker. Externally, Kerry is recognised by Legal 500 and it is commented that she is 'experienced and gutsy'. Kerry is also a full member of the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists ("ACTAPS").

Associate Solicitor Ashfords Solicitors LLP

Vicki Green Based at the firm's Exeter office, Vicki specializes in Probate, Wills and Powers of Attorney work. The probate work that she is involved in covers both taxable and non-taxable testate and intestate estates and she has experience of dealing with Bona Vacantia referrals to the Treasury Solicitor. Victoria is also a full member of Solicitors for the Elderly

Combined Enforcement Team Leader North Norfolk District Council

Rural Empty Homes Strategy panel Doing a lot with a little

Will Abë Will Abë is an experienced Empty Homes Officer having been involved in the government pilot schemes of the late 1990s and returning to the role some six years ago in North East Lincolnshire. Currently working for North Norfolk District Council, initially as Empty Homes Manager for the Council in 1994, his role has diversified to incorporate Planning Enforcement and Council Tax inspections.

Empty Homes Officer South Lakeland District Council

Lynne Leach Lynne Leach has been Empty homes officer at South Lakeland District Council in the Lake District since 2008. Although she didn’t have a housing background, over the past nine years she has managed to ‘do an EDMO’ and other enforcement, chair the Cumbria Empty Property Group, set up a Matchmaker Scheme, set up an Empty Homes grants scheme, win an EHN award for empty homes practitioner of the year 2016 and re-write SLDC’s empty homes webpages. Plus helping numerous empty home owners to bring their homes back into use in lots of different ways.

Policy Lead Empty Homes Network

New Homes Bonus What the changes mean

David Gibbens Since 2009, David has been the point of liaison between EHN and external agencies. He has drafted consultation responses, policy documents and practitioner guides and many news stories and analyses. David became Exeter's first Empty Homes Officer in 1996. The initiative garnered 5 Empty Homes Awards for schemes ranging from a partnership with Devon County for asylum seeker accommodation to a strategic approach to Living-over-the-Shop. Innovations included a Joint Commissioning Protocol with the Housing Corporation and one of the first cross-boundary empty homes schemes. David subsequently became the council's Housing Enabling Manager, responsible for Housing Strategy, partnership schemes with housing associations, Section 106 negotiations and empty homes.

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 8

Our speakers (continued)

Director self-help-housing.org

Community-led solutions 'State of the Nation' review

Jon Fitzmaurice, OBE Jon started work with Shape Housing Association in Birmingham a long time ago, working with young people to renovate empty street properties for homeless families. He later moved into mainstream housing, but his interest in mobilizing people to secure housing for themselves has never waned. In 2009 he set up Self-Help Housing.Org, which focused on how using empty street property could an provide a starting point to develop new community housing initiatives. The £50m DCLG Empty Homes Community Grants Programme proved a game changer and there are now around 100 organisations in the self-help housing network.

Head of Counter-Fraud HM Land Registry

Satisfaction guaranteed Overcoming the owner’s fear of builders with Home Improvement Guarantee

Julie Jenkins Julie joined HM Land Registry in 2000 as a Land Registrar having worked as a lawyer in private practice and within the banking sector for HSBC and Cheltenham & Gloucester plc (part of the Lloyds Banking Group) Since 2008 Julie has been Head of Counter Fraud at the Land Registry and in 2012 the team won a National Fraud Authority Fraud Prevention award.

Senior VAT Consultant The VAT People Ltd.

VAT and empty homes What you need to know

Tamara Habberley Tamara e worked for 7 years as a VAT inspector before jumping ship and joining the “real” business world as a VAT advisor in 1998, passing her AIIT exams in 1999. Her 25 years of experience allow her to see VAT issues from both sides of the fence – useful when negotiating with HMRC. Tamara adviseso a wide range of businesses and organisations from property developers, construction businesses and housing associations to not-for-profit organisations, providing creative and workable solutions to their VAT issues. This has resulted in substantial VAT savings for a number of her clients. Tamara also provides VAT training and enjoys acting as a facilitator assisting businesses and other organisations to learn more about VAT, how it impacts on their organisation and how to make VAT work better for them.

Service Team Manager NAFN Data and Intelligence Services

Information is the key How NAFN can help

Nicola Corless Nicola joined NAFN as a Team Leader in 2007 following a career in banking. She is now the Service Team Manager assisting Local Authorities, Housing Associations and other Public Bodies to protect the public purse. Nicola’s team gather evidence under the Data Protection Act (DPA), Prevention of Social Housing Act 2013 (PoSHFA), Council Tax Reductions Scheme Regulations 2013 (CTRS) and Regulatory Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). NAFN, which was established in 1997, provides its customers with a secure , single point of contact to access a wide range of information providers including Banks , Building Societies , Insurance Companies , Credit Reference Agencies , Land Registry ,DVLA and National Hunter

Director: Housing Training and Law Consultancy Ltd. Consultant: Kent County Council & Welsh government

Practitioner Surgery: Enforcement, loans, grants and more

Andrew Lavender Working as a trainer and consultant across many different authorities Andrew has developed an exceptional level of skill and knowledge about how to tackle empty homes, with a specialism in enforcement. Employed by the Welsh Government in the development of their national loan scheme, he is also well-known for his role as lead consultant for the 12 authorities involved in the Kent No Use Empty initiative.

Andrew is a Director of Housing Training and Law Consultancy Ltd. and is a professional member of the West Midlands Residential Property Tribunal.

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 9

Our speakers (continued)

Empty Property Officer Carlisle City Council

Making the case for an Empty Homes Officer Tips from one who succeeded!

David Sanderson David Sanderson, Empty Property Officer, Carlisle City Council is an executive member of the Empty Homes Network practitioner group. David received a national commendation for his work on empty homes in 2015. David is a construction & housing professional with forty years’ experience in refurbishment, renovation and maintenance projects. Skilled and experienced in Quantity & Building Surveying, Construction Management, landlords’ compliance and the procurement of contracts up to £25m for councils, private rented and social housing sectors.

Housing Development Officer Plymouth City Council

The Plymouth approach 20 years of experience

Thelma Cunningham Thelma has been leading the Plymouth empty homes delivery since taking on the role in 2004. She is committed to turning empty property into homes, ensuring the importance of tackling this issue is kept high on the political agenda and in 2016 successfully bid for £1million capital funds to deliver a package of incentives and enforcement over the next five years. She values the importance of negotiating and attributes Plymouth’s success to having a team of skilled negotiators. Plymouth regularly uses enforcement as and is currently engaged in using Compulsory Purchase, Enforced Sale and Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

Solicitor L B and Co. Solicitors

The law of unintended consequences Avoiding heir hunter horror stories in intestacies

Carolyn Lord After working in local government, Carolyn qualified as a solicitor in 1992 specialising in planning law, and in 1994 she co-established a nationally ranked niche practice. Still working in private practice, for many years she has also been appointed to roles to uphold local authority standards and advise on elected members’ remuneration and is a university governor. She is also Commerical and Compliance Director of a professional probate genealogy company. Her concern for local government probity and her knowledge of the modus operandi of heir hunters and tracing agents has led to her co-ordination of a body of research to inform councils of ‘under-the-radar’ problems arising if they refer tracing work to a sole operator

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 10

About the Empty Homes Network

We are a national network with approximately 525 individual members and

associates, launched with 80 members in 2001 as the National Association of

Empty Property Practitioners. Then-Minister Sally Keeble wrote

“NAEPP[=EHN] will provide a national voice for local authority and RSL

staff in their work to bring empty homes back into use. The Government

is keen to see its membership grow into a national network of empty

property practitioners.”

Since then we have expanded our membership to include those working in

regeneration companies, in self-help and community groups, and in private

sector firms involved in helping bring empty homes back into use.

We are a not-for-profit membership organisation, self-financing through

membership fees, advertising and the surplus from our Conference. We are

proud of our independence: our voice is our own.

We are governed by a 20-strong Executive which includes representatives from

empty homes practitioner forums up and down the country.

Our main role is to support all practitioners and organisations involved in

addressing the issue of empty homes, helping them work as effectively as

possible. We do this by facilitating the sharing of information and experience,

by organising training events and conferences, by promoting best practice

amongst delivery partners and by promoting sound policy at national level.

We argue for service improvement; help those practitioners with the least time

and resources to gain confidence and do their work more effectively; and

support DCLG and other policy makers in developing approaches that will work

in all localities.

Joining

Our Corporate Membership arrangements entitle any employee of the member

organisation to register with us for no additional fee.

Members benefit from regular updates about new developments in the empty

homes world. sizeable discounts for attendance at the Conference and other ,

training events, and access to our Premium materials such as our Practitioner

Guides.

Membership fees are £95 p.a. per organisation with reduced rates for small

not-for-profit organisations and Collective memberships by Forums.

Contact admin@ehnetwork.org.uk for further details.

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 11

Empty Homes Awards 2017

One of the most important features of the Conference is the presentation of the

Empty Homes Awards. Time does not permit us to look at the submissions in the

detail that we would like on the day of the Conference, but we do publish more

information on the EHN website after the event. We are very grateful to the

different Award sponsors for their support.

Award sponsors

Kent No Use Empty initiative Sponsor Empty Homes Practitioner of the Year Award No Use Empty, launched by Kent County Council (KCC), celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2015. All 12 authorities in Kent participate in the initiative to substantially increase the number of empty homes returned to use as good quality housing through a range of interventions. Empty property owners can apply for a loan of up to £25,000 per unit to a maximum of £175,000. KCC has issued £14.7M loans since 2005, leveraging additional private funding of £22M, boosting the local economy and job market. No Use Empty has

created 4,289 new homes to date. www.nue.org.uk

Cromwood Social Sponsor Best Before-and-After Photo Award We at Cromwood Group have a long history of managing social housing and working with local authorities in London and Manchester. We set up Cromwood Social, headed by Abdus Saleh, to bring empty properties back into use for the use of social housing. We have partnered with financial intermediaries and created funds that can be used to acquire and/or refurbish empty properties. Our one stop service in London to owners of empty properties includes resolving probate; financing refurbishment; project managing works and management of refurbished property. We expect to expand our operations

outside of London. cromwood.co.uk/cromwood-social/

Destin Solutions Ltd. Sponsor of Excellence in Information Award At Destin Solutions, we are all about making the best use of data and information. Our core business is working with local authorities to achieve better outcomes. It is clear that intelligent use of information is vital for empty homes practitioners to do their job properly and to maximise their contribution to their local communities. So we are very pleased to take this opportunity to recognise the ways in which empty homes teams are using information creatively and to encourage innovative approaches. www.homesmatch.co.uk

Empty Property Solutions Ltd. Sponsors of Innovation Award Carson Millican is Director of Empty Property Solutions Ltd., and is a specialist who engages with Local Authorities to develop empty property approaches and strategies that will win New Homes Bonuses and tap into available funding. It is hoped this award will highlight the innovative thinking required to deal with the difficult long term empties in a way that provides new solutions to old problems. emptyproperty@btinternet.com

Programme for The Empty Homes Conference 2017, Maple House, Birmingham, 24th May 2017 Page 12

Our Main Conference Sponsor…

Ad Hoc Property Management Ltd.

Ad Hoc is Europe's leading vacant property protection specialist, with 10 offices across the UK. We keep commercial and residential buildings safe and secure by installing our vetted Property Guardians, who are local working people, to live in them until they are needed again. Property Guardians prevent squatting, theft and further criminality. This is a proven and effective way to protect any property and can save you up to 80% on security costs. For further information: email: marketing@adhoc.eu tel.: 020 7354 5458 web: www.adhocproperty.co.uk

More Sponsors & Supporters

Kent No Use Empty initiative Gold Supporter Sponsor Empty Homes Practitioner of the Year Award No Use Empty, launched by Kent County Council (KCC), celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2015. All 12 authorities in Kent participate in the initiative to substantially increase the number of empty homes returned to use as good quality housing through a range of interventions. Empty property owners can apply for a loan of up to £25,000 per unit to a maximum of £175,000. KCC has issued £14.7M loans since 2005, leveraging additional private funding of £22M, boosting the local economy and job market. No Use Empty has created 4,289 new homes to date. www.nue.org.uk

Cromwood Social Silver Supporter Sponsor Best Before-and-After Photo Award We at Cromwood Group have a long history of managing social housing and working with local authorities in London and Manchester. We set up Cromwood Social, headed by Abdus Saleh, to bring empty properties back into use for the use of social housing. We have partnered with financial intermediaries and created funds that can be used to acquire and/or refurbish empty properties. Our one stop service in London to owners of empty properties includes resolving probate; financing refurbishment; project managing works and management of refurbished property. We expect to expand our operations outside of London. cromwood.co.uk/cromwood-social/