Campaigning On Empty Properties
I work for a local authority, how can I trace the owner of an empty home?
Tracing an unknown/absent owner is the first step towards bringing an empty property back into use. This factsheet outlines the steps you can take to find the name and whereabouts of an owner.
You could search your local authority’s Council Housing Waiting List, Housing Benefit Information System and Homeless Persons Unit Information System - former tenants at the empty property who have applied to go on the council’s housing list, claimed housing benefit or registered themselves as homeless with the local authority may have supplied the landlord’s name and address on their application form.
You could search your local authority’s Housing Advice Records - your housing advice section may have tried to trace the landlord of an empty property if tenants had made a complaint.
You could search your Environmental Services Department records - your environmental services department will have records of properties which have caused a nuisance in the past and may have tried to trace the owner.
You could serve a Section 16 Notice - under section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, your local authority can direct any person it suspects has information about a property to give you this information. This request is compulsory and if a person does not comply, they can be fined £2,000. If you suspect someone knows something about the owner of an empty home, this is a good way of getting them to reveal it.
You could contact relevant gas or electric companies - some local authorities can obtain details of owners of property under a policy of mutual aid with utility companies.
If you suspect the owner is elderly, you could contact your Local Health Trust who can confirm whether the owner is in a care home or deceased. In addition, your Social Services Property Team may have details of the owner if he/she is in the care of the social services.
You could contact your area Fire Brigade, who will have attempted to contact the owner if they have attended fires at the property.
You could also approach Local Councillors - they often have useful local knowledge and may be able to help
You could post a notice on the door of the empty property stating that you would like to contact the owner. Talk to neighbours and contact the area Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator and any other neighbourhood community groups as well as local shopkeepers - they may well know something about the owner. This method costs nothing and can often yield valuable information about an empty property.
You could contact the Planning and Building Control Departments of your local authority. If they have processed planning applications or had any dealings with the owner in the past, they will be able to give you the name and last known address. You would need to visit and inspect the planning register for the relevant street.
If the property is in a rural area, you could contact the local parish council. The parish clerk may have details of the owner.
You could contact your local police station and speak to the home beat officer. He/she may have attempted to contact the owner if the police have had to secure an empty property against theft or vandalism.
You could do a search of your District Land Registry, which has information on all owners of registered land. Complete Form 313 and the details will be sent to you within 48 hours (cost £4). This is a useful way to find the owner’s name, but the address given is often the same as the empty property address. Contact H M Land Registry on 020 7917 8888, www.landreg.gov.uk. If the land is unregistered, the Land Registry will not have any information, but you could do a search of the Land Charges Registry (Form K15 - cost £1). This will reveal the owner’s details if there are any charges against the property (e.g. a second mortgage) or if bankruptcy papers have been filed. Contact Land Charges Registry on 01752 635600.
Once you know the owner’s name, you could trace him/her via a search agency - look in your local Yellow Pages under “Detective Agencies” or contact the Talking Pages. This is often the easiest way to trace an owner’s whereabouts, but you will have to pay a fee which can range from about £20 to around £200.
What are the telltale signs of an empty home?
How can you tell the difference between a long-term empty (a home that has been empty for at least a year) and a short-term empty (a home left empty for a temporary period of time, eg for repairs to be done)? While short-term empty property is often maintained to a basic level (eg the removal of rubbish, collection of mail, etc), long-term empties are often neglected properties. Short-term empties will soon be brought back into use, but long-term empties can be a nuisance to neighbours, a blight on the local area and a wasted resource.
If you are trying to find out whether a home is a long-term empty, look for the following:
Is there a large amount of uncollected post building up inside the front door, hanging out of the letterbox or around the garden? If post goes uncollected for months on end, this can be a sign that a property has been abandoned.
Is the garden being maintained or is rubbish being dumped and not removed? If it is being used as a ‘dumping ground’, this is often an indication that the property is known to people in the area as an abandoned building.
Are there signs of disrepair and external damage that are not being dealt with, eg broken windows, graffiti, damaged roof? If the owner does not appear to be concerned about deterioration, this can be a signal that it has been deserted.
Has the property been boarded up (ie doors and windows fitted with metal or wooden grilles)? This is often a sign that a building has been empty for a long time and has had to be secured against vandalism and theft.
Are any lights left on or does anyone ever visit the property? If so, it is unlikely that the property has been abandoned and is evidence that someone is looking after it.
Do the neighbours know anything about the property? It is worth asking neighbours what they know about the property and its owner and how long they can remember the property being empty.
Does the council know about the empty property? Contact your local council empty property officer to see if the property is listed on their records as a long-term empty. Empty property officers are responsible for all empty properties in their area and for contacting the owners and asking them to put the property back into use.
It is also worth checking the electoral roll at your local library or town hall to see if anyone is registered to vote at the property. This register is updated every year.
Where you get a combination of the above factors, the chances are that the property is a long-term empty and has been abandoned. You can report any long-term empty property either to your local
authority empty property officer or to the Empty Homes Agency – Tel. 020 7828 6288 (national) / 0870 901 6303 (London)
What should your Local Authority/Council be doing about empty properties? What can you do?
There is currently no duty on local authorities to produce an empty property strategy - however, this does not mean that they should be resting on their laurels. The Government has initiated several new policies that state quite clearly that empty properties will not be tolerated such as:
The introduction of a discretionary power available to local authorities to impose 100% Council Tax on long-term empty properties. Currently owners receive a 50% discount. The power is set to be introduced from April next year.
Zero-rated VAT on refurbishment of properties empty for more than 10 years - 5% on those empty for more than three years. EHA is currently campaigning for VAT to be harmonized so that both new build and refurbishment of all empty properties is set at 5%. The present situation is that properties empty for more less than three years attract a rate of 15% on the cost of refurbishment whereas new build is zero-rated.
The introduction of a scheme for space above shops where the owner receives 100% Capital Allowance over three years on high street properties that are refurbished and then let for 7 years.
Empty Homes Management Orders - consultation has just ended on this and the results are awaited. The intention would be to allow local authorities to purchase a lease on a property where the owner will not be co-operate in bringing the property back into use voluntarily. The property would then be let for social housing.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned The Empty Homes Agency, KPMG Management Consultants and Drivas Jonas to write guidance on bringing empty properties back into use. The guidance, "Unlocking the Potential" has been written for both owners and local authority officers and is available free on the ODPM website - www.odpm.gov.uk
ODPM have also introduced a new Best Value Performance Indicator to ensure that local authorities have the re-use of empty properties as one of their priorities.
ODPM are also looking to introduce legislation next year that will enable local authorities to share information held by the Council Tax departments with other departments. This will make identifying empties easier.
Empty properties are not just a wasted housing resource but also have a degenerative effect on the properties and communities surrounding them. An empty property will increase fears of crime; cause damage to the property next door, encourage fly-tipping and vermin as well as denying someone the most basic of human rights - having access to a home.
If you spot a property that has been empty long-term there are a list of questions that you should ask your local Council:
1. Does the Council work in partnership with Housing Associations to bring empty properties back into use via a Private Sector Leasing Scheme? A Private Sector Leasing Scheme is a facility for a housing association to be funded to buy a lease on a private property from an owner. They pay the owner guaranteed rent throughout the period of the lease regardless of whether it is empty at any stage. The property is then used to house tenants from the housing association or Council waiting list. Proposals to make this scheme compulsory of the owner will not co-operate are being discussed and legislation to that effect is likely in 2005. Mercian Housing Association in Birmingham is one housing association that operates such a scheme even providing - in some cases - furnished accommodation for those who need it.
2. Does the Council give empty property grants to owners of empty properties? The Council has the ability to give grants, loans and even mortgages to owners of empty properties to enable tem to refurbish them and bring them back into use. Usually the grant or loan will have a condition attached tat the property is then let to someone on the housing waiting list. However, the intention is that Councils address the problem of housing right across their area and should also look at setting the condition that they are offered for private sale or rent at affordable levels. The Council should have written a new Empty Property Grant policy - ask to see a copy. Cotswolds District Council revisited their grant policy and decided that their priority was not necessarily to bring back empty properties into use for social housing but to provide affordable accommodation for local people. One developer bought into the scheme, which provided ten new homes at affordable rents for local people priced out of the housing market.
3. What enforcement measures does the Council use if the owner refuses to co-operate? If the empty property is causing problems of nuisance in terms of decay, infestation or crime, the Council can issue notices to the owner to carry out necessary repair works. Quite often the responsibility of carrying out repairs will force to owner to sell. In some cases they might decide to repair the property and then rent it out. Action on the part of the Council is vital to setting this into motion.
If the owner refuses to co-operate, the Council can force the sale of the property either by a Compulsory Purchase Order or - much quicker and easier - Enforced Sale Procedure. However this is a very last resort. The former means that the Council buys it for social housing; the latter means that it is sold on the open market at auction. Leeds City Council have set up a scheme where they work with selected private partners who then buy the properties to let for social housing.
4. Do they have a Private Sector Landlord Forum? A Government priority is the improvement of the private rented sector. This is easier to achieve if the Council has a lot of contact with private landlords. For instance, many private landlords are happy to take housing benefit tenants if they have the assurance that their claim is being processed. The Housing Benefit Manager at Eastbourne Borough Council therefore designed a form that both tenant and landlord can sign to enable the landlord to discuss the tenant's claim with Housing Benefit. Woking Borough Council have an excellent Landlord Forum, which means more access to good quality housing for everyone.
5. Does the Council operate a 'homesteading' scheme? There are areas across the country suffering from low demand for housing. In some cases streets upon streets of good quality housing stands empty. These empty properties are a financial burden to the Council or housing association that owns them. The Council is able to dispose of these properties for a nominal sum - having sought permission form the Secretary of State - to provide housing for local people. Newcastle City Council set up a very successful scheme. They offered flats for properties for sale for 50p each. The conditions attached were that the chosen applicants were local families with at least three children (indicative of a particular housing resource shortage), they must buy two flats and be able to raise a mortgage for the considerably reduced purchase price. The Council paid for the flats to be converted into single houses and to be refurbished completely. The result was families with houses, a regenerated area as a result of the refurbishment and re-occupation and a cure for the Council's financial headache.
If none of these questions are answered you should write to your local Councillor explaining that the empty property is reducing the value of the surrounding properties. It will also be increasing fears of crime in the area as well as attracting fly-tipping. If you live next door to the property include your fears of potential damage to your own property such as water ingress and vermin infestation as well as the reduced security for your own home.
Allowing owner to leave properties empty and deteriorating costs the local authority money in terms of extra expenditure on:
Clearing rubbish from the property in case of health hazard
Inspecting the property to ensure that the property is safe
Increasing crime and fears of crime resulting in additional policing or complaints
Creating undesirable pockets of housing putting more stress on housing provision
Lost Council Tax revenue if they give the owner 50% discount
Boarding up if the property becomes unsafe.
In your letter ask how the local authority can justify such expenditure when central government is telling them to work with owners either voluntarily - or in some cases - using enforcement action - to bring empty properties back into use.
Summary
If you spot or live next door to an empty property:
Contact your Local Authority - ask to speak to the person responsible for private sector empty properties.
Ask what they will do about the property. Have they already contacted the owner? What enforcement action will they be taking if the owner will not co-operate?
If you are still dissatisfied write to your local Councillor - copying the letter to the Local Authority and The Empty Homes Agency asking for their proposals for private sector empty properties and also justification of the wasted expenditure.
If you still have no joy contact us.
In what capacity does the empty homes strategy relate to the ordinary individual?
In answer to the question, "How does the strategy relate to the individual" the empty homes strategy is the way that your local authority tackles the problem of empty homes in your area. At the simplest level an empty property will knock 10% of the value of the property next door - the two neighbouring residents are therefore affected immediately and an effective strategy should being place to ensure that the situation does not continue.
The individual in this case is affected by either their own house value falling or the potential for their investment to be eroded by the spread of the effect. They will also be affected by the potential for the increase of crime and vandalism in that street.
The owner of the empty property should be approached, offered advice and/or assistance to bring the property back into use and - if they refuse to do so or cannot be traced - then moves must be made to secure ownership of the property and re-use it for housing. If an effective empty property strategy is not in place, the area could start to go into decline as the empty property deteriorates and becomes a target for crime and vandalism. If it is in an area of unpopular housing or low demand, the downward spiral of decline can pick up speed very quickly and is difficult to halt with eventually whole streets becoming empty.
The individual in this case is affected by higher levels of crime and vandalism and - in some cases - the fear of going out at night alone. Empty properties can be very intimidating to walk past.
If the property is in an area of high demand the spiral will be slower but resentment and injustice will follow as empty properties stand empty as waiting lists for housing grow, homeless people are not housed and the economy of an area suffers as street homelessness, begging and unemployment are allowed to continue.
In this case the individual will be can be affected by possible lower house values and unnecessary levels of homelessness. Numbers of empty properties will also eventually adversely affect insurance premiums in that area.
Don't underestimate the destructive spread of a slowly rotting empty property. The strategy is in place for the local authority to provide a service to the individual - you can help by identifying empty properties, considering investing in one to provide either private or social housing, investigate whether your local authority offers grant assistance to do that. If you already own the empty property, ask your local authority for advice and help on how to bring it back into use for housing - it's not as difficult as you might think. Some local authorities offer schemes where a housing association will buy a lease on the property and manage it fully for the duration handing ownership back to you at the end.
What is the definition of an empty home for the purposes of your data, and how would developers go about purchasing an empty home when the vast majority are privately owned?
The definition of an empty home for the purposes of figures displayed on our website is a dwelling that has been empty for over 6 months. If you are a developer wanting to purchase and renovate empty homes, it is advisable to identify the empty properties you are interested in and then approach the local authority to see if they have any plans to apply for a compulsory purchase order on the property or to enforce the sale. If you are able to demonstrate commitment and an impressive portfolio as a landlord then you might be able to form a working partnership with the local authority to purchase the property as soon as they have acquired it.
Alternatively you could put a note through the door of the property to asking if the owner would be willing to sell to you.
It is also a good idea to see if the local authority is operating an empty property grant scheme.