Empty Property Question

silvercar

There was some change in the rules this year (or last), where the council can take over properties that have been empty for more than 6 months and let them out. The idea is that the council brings them upto standard and lets them out and the rent pays for the cost of the works.

The council may not act if the gent tells them he in in the process of upgrading and then his son is going to move in. They may also be reluctant if there is a lot of work to do and they have low budgets.

clutton_2

as i said ages ago the 2004 Housing Act allows the council to take over empty propertiies to bring them back into use

""Surely an empty property on its own doesn't justify anything ""

sounds like this has been empty for 20 years - its EXACTLY these sort of unused properties that the Act is targetting - it really is unacceptable for homes to be left to go to rack and ruin

Jowo_2

I reckon Welshwoofs should facilitate this by reporting all 4 properties to the local council via the Empty Homes Agency and speak to the local environmental health department to see where you stand on reporting and enforcing action on the damage to your property, perhaps finding out if Welshwoofs needs to take legal action to force the owner to pay compensation for the damage and their share for the collapsed drain.

http://www.emptyhomes.com/

Many local councils offer grants to owners to refurbish empty properties so he's not that wiley if he's missing out on taxpayers picking up the tab to bring them back into use. Why not pull the land registry record for a couple of quid from their site for those addresses, just to check whether he's got any charges registered against it.

"Local authorities are increasingly engaging with owners to find the right solutions. This can take the form of offering incentives such as renovation grants or loans or advice on selling, leasing and tax issues. Such approaches are dependent on goodwill and co-operation from owners and where this is achieved can be highly effective. However, local authorities may also resort to enforcement action where it has not been proved possible to achieve re-occupation of empty properties through voluntary means. Local authorities have, for many years, been able to call upon statutory last resort powers to require the sale or renovation of empty properties. The most commonly known powers are compulsory purchase and enforced sale. In 2006, the Government introduced an additional last resort power - Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs)."



http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingmanagementcare/emptyhomes/

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/152870.pdf

anotherginger

I think what you are talking about is an Empty Dwelling Management Order, which can be taken by the local authority.

However, although this is in the power of a local authority, it is a discretionary power and there are very few cases of this happening probably due to the excessive costs that need to paid upfront by the council. The council spends money on the property to bring it up to standard and then rents it out until the costs are recouped (plus management costs).

If the owner sells before the costs are recouped then they will have a charge.

Jowo_2

I was referring to an EDMO and you are right, anotherginger, council's are extremely apathetic about them so Welshwoofs will need to push them all the way. According to this thread, only 29 have been issued in England to date, if the following link is correct

http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/2009/06/two-homes-two-mps-and-an-edmo/

clutton_2

in some inner city areas, Urban Splash have been doing similar renovations