Empty Property - What a Waste!

31st January 2007

Introduction

Long-term empty properties (i.e. those void for more than six months) tend to attract all manner of antisocial behaviour such as fly tipping, vandalism, arson, drug taking and other issues that affect the health and well being of the neighbourhood in which they are situated.

A proliferation of empty properties is a graphic indicator of failing communities, a consequence of which is to deter inward investment. The decline is exacerbated and accelerated when the commercial and financial sectors consider it no longer viable for them to continue trading and investing in such areas.

Profile

To address the problem of empty properties Leeds City Council has deployed an Empty Property Team whose role is primarily enforcement. It will take enforcement action as appropriate and necessary to deal with the many issues associated with long-term empty properties.

The Work of the Empty Property Team

To proactively identify empty properties and their associated problems.
To act upon complaints from members of the public and referrals from
agencies, including the police and fire service.
To take appropriate enforcement action using information action and
statutory powers.
To encourage Landlord Accreditation within the private sector.

Why Enforcement Action

There are a number of objectives attached to enforcement action.

To continue to reduced the number of long-term empty properties that are having a detrimental effect upon the communities in which they are situated.
To ensure owners of empty properties carry out their responsibilities.
To improve the existing built environment.
To support programmes of regeneration.

Problems Associated With Empty Properties

There are a number of issues associated with empty properties:

Empty houses attract crime and anti social behaviour such as rubbish
dumping and vandalism.
Empty houses can be subject to squatters, leading to damage and legal
costs
Empty houses can blight an area leading to further empty houses, causing decreasing property values and increasing difficulty to re-let.
Empty houses can become a financial burden due to security costs,
increasing maintenance costs, higher insurance premiums, council tax and possible reduction in property valuation.
Empty houses may be subject to enforcement action by local authority officers.

Why Should Empty Houses be Brought Back Into Use?

It is an essential housing provision due to the national housing shortage.
They can become valuable and productive assets generating a regular rental income and lead to increases in property valuations.
The area is improved and thereby helps to build confidence in the community, making it a more attractive place to live.
The spending power of new members of the community is brought into the local shops and services, thereby further increasing community confidence.
There are VAT incentives to owners returning to use buildings that have been empty for over three years.

Expected Outcomes

The expected outcomes are:

A reduction in the number of long-term empty properties.
Sustaining the housing market within targeted areas.
Improved quality of life across a range of indicators.
Reduction in the number of arson attacks, fly tipping and vandalism.
Creating more confident and stable neighbourhoods thereby boosting the local economy.

Legislative Powers

There is a host of legislation available to Local Authorities to deal with the many problems associated with empty properties. They may undertake work in default of an owner and recover the costs including administrative costs.
Delegated powers include:

Securing properties that are open to unauthorised access
Problems of statutory nuisance
Building defects
Problems of rodents
Problems of refuse

Local Authorities also have at their disposal powers to take Compulsory Purchase action to secure the ownership and reoccupation of a property.

Where there is an outstanding debt to the Local Authority it can force the sale of an empty to repay the debt.

Registration of Ownership

Is your property correctly registered with the Land Registry? Regular searches undertaken by Officers of the Council show that the person registered as the owner(s) is (are) not the actual owner(s). As such you could be served with an enforcement action Notice even though you have sold on the property.

How Can Leeds City Council Help?

The Leeds Homes – Choice Based Letting Scheme

Because of the decrease in the supply of social housing in Leeds, it is considered appropriate to include ‘accredited’ private landlords within the Choice Based Letting service in support of a truly holistic approach to housing provision throughout Leeds. Properties across both the social and private rented sector are now advertised via the weekly published flyer and on the Leeds Homes website www.leedshomes.org.uk which is proving to be successful, in that, empty properties within the public and private sectors are quickly turned around and re-occupied, making best use of the housing supply.

Investors in Leeds Initiative

The investors in Leeds Register is an initiative devised by Leeds City Council to match private landlords and developers seeking to purchase long-term empty properties in suitable locations. The initiative is available to landlords and developers, approved or ‘accredited’ under the Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme.

The initiative consists of a register of these selected investors who have expressed an interest in purchasing additional properties within Leeds to add to their portfolio. They are asked to declare which districts within the city they are interested in investing and the details are then put onto the Investors in Leeds database. Owners of long-term empty properties are contacted throughout the targeted areas and provided with an area-specific list of the appropriate investors in order that they can then consider contacting them and negotiating the sale of the their property.

Accreditation

The above services are available to any accredited landlord (Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme) free of charge.

The Leeds Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) is to support responsible renting and ensure that landlords and tenants are aware of their entitlements and respective responsibilities towards one another and to promote good standards of accommodation and management.

Being a member of the scheme will show prospective tenants that you will provide good quality housing that is well equipped, hygienic, safe and secure, and it should provide a market advantage when letting. Further information on the scheme can be obtained by telephoning 0113 2476240, or by emailing accreditation@leeds.gov.uk

Did You Know?

In 2005 there were over 680,000 vacant homes in England, of which 79,500 were in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

Almost 3% of homes in the Leeds City Council area have been empty for over six months.
In 2005, nationally, over 100,000 families were in temporary accommodation at vast expense to you the tax payer.
86% of long term vacant homes are within the private sector.

Tax advantages when renovating vacant dwellings include:

5% VAT where the dwelling has been empty over 3 years.
5% VAT when converting a house into flats.
No VAT on conversions for sale of properties empty over 10 years.
100% capital allowance to create flats over shops for letting.

Leeds City Council can and does compulsorily purchase long-term vacant dwellings, where there is unmet housing need and force the sale of vacant dwellings where there is outstanding debt to the Council.

The Leeds Homes – Choice Based Letting Scheme

Because of the decrease in the supply of social housing in Leeds, it is considered appropriate to include ‘accredited’ private landlords within the Choice Based Letting service in support of a truly holistic approach to housing provision throughout Leeds. Properties across both the social and private rented sector are now advised on a weekly basis via the weekly published flyer and upon the Leeds Homes website www.leedshomes.org.uk which is proving to be successful, in that, empty properties within the public and private sectors are quickly turned around and re-occupied thereby making best use of the housing supply.

Investors in Leeds Initiative

The Investors in Leeds Register is an initiative devised by Leeds City Council to match private landlords and developers seeking to purchase long-term empty properties in suitable locations. The initiative is available to landlords and developers, approved or ‘accredited’ under the Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme.

The initiative consists of a register of these selected investors who have expressed an interest in purchasing additional properties within Leeds to add to their portfolio. They are asked to declare which districts within the city they are interested in investing and the details are then put onto the Investors in Leeds database. Owners of long-term empty properties are contacted throughout the targeted areas of low demand and issued with an area-specific schedule of the appropriate investors in order that they can consider contacting and negotiating the sale of their property with these interested parties.

Accreditation

If you are looking for decent housing in the private sector, find a landlord who is a member of the Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme.

The Leeds Landlords Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) is to support responsible renting and ensure that landlords and tenants are aware of their entitlements and respective responsibilities towards one another and to promote good standards of accommodation and management.

For further information regarding empty properties please contact the Empty Property Team on 0845 124 0113.