AGENDA ITEM NO. 6
1.
REPORT TO:
Executive Board
REPORT NO:
CHPPO/152/07
DATE:
18 December 2007
LEAD MEMBER
Councillor Rodney Skelland
(Social Affairs, Health and Housing)
LEAD OFFICER:
Chief Housing and Public Protection Officer
CONTACT OFFICERS:
Marc Williams (Tel 315506)
SUBJECT:
Private Sector Empty Property Strategy
WARD:
All
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To seek Members’ approval for the Council’s Private Sector Empty Property Strategy.
2.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1
Long term empty property (vacant in excess of 6 months), may cause problems for the property
owner, neighbours, the wider local community and the Council. In addition to being
detrimental to an area, empty homes are a wasted resource which if brought back into use can
contribute to the housing supply in Wrexham.
2.2
The Private Sector Empty Property Strategy (2007 - 2012) builds upon work carried out under
the previous draft strategy. Since its development however the increased recognition by
Government of the relationship between empty property and housing supply and significant
legislative changes have prompted a review of the approach taken by Wrexham County
Borough Council.
2.3
There is currently no statutory duty on local authorities to produce an Empty Property Strategy.
The Government, however, has made it clear that it expects local authorities to reduce the
number of empty homes within its area as part of its strategic housing role, rather than
continuing to deal with such properties on a mainly reactive basis. The Strategy links in with
the aims and objectives of the Council’s Local Housing Strategy.
2.4
The Private Sector Empty Property Strategy and Action Plan detail the proposed approach of
the Strategy, and provide a summary of the powers and procedures available to ensure the
effective implementation, monitoring and review of the Strategy.
3.
RECOMMENDATION
3.1
That Executive Board approve the Private Sector Empty Property Strategy 2007 – 2012.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
The Strategy if implemented will demonstrate the commitment on the part of Wrexham County
Borough Council to tackling the issue of private sector empty homes in Wrexham and could make a
significant contribution to the supply of affordable housing in the Borough.
Andy Lewis
Chief Housing and Public Protection Officer
4.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
4.1
The negative effects of long term empty property (empty for more than 6 months), in the
private sector, have long been known. Historically, these properties have tended to be dealt
with reactively following complaints from neighbours. It is now recognised that in addition to
environmental concerns, property left empty can have a much wider impact on the local
community and housing market and result in significant costs to the Council. Moreover, their
scope to contribute to the overall housing supply is more pronounced given the current housing
pressures.
4.2
The Barker Review of Housing Supply (2004) highlighted the need for an increase in housing
supply. The Government recognises the importance of making effective use of existing stock in
contributing to the overall housing supply and in ‘Sustainable Communities: Homes for All’
(2005), the Government made a fresh commitment to reduce the number of long term empty
private properties. The recent Housing Green Paper: ‘Homes for the Future: more affordable,
more sustainable’ (2007), confirms this commitment and the expectation that local authorities
will reduce the number of long term empty homes as part of their strategic housing role.
4.3
Whilst there is currently no statutory duty on local authorities to produce and implement a
private sector empty property strategy, tackling this important issue is a necessary part of
overall housing strategy and the approach of the Assembly Government is to encourage local
authorities to develop and implement their own empty property strategies.
4.4
Dealing with long term empty private sector property in Wrexham is important for two main
reasons:


4.5
The impact and costs on the owner, neighbours, the local community and the Council.
The potential contribution of such properties to the supply of affordable housing.
The inclusion of ‘empty homes’ in the Wrexham Local Housing Strategy 2007 – 2012 reflects
the recognition that empty properties are a wasted resource and can have a significant and
detrimental impact upon the neighbourhoods in which they are located. Dealing with empty
properties in a strategic way will contribute to the achievement of the aims and vision of the
Local Housing Strategy and will assist in meeting our housing needs.
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4.6
The Wrexham County Borough Housing Needs Assessment (2006) revealed that annually
Wrexham requires 147 additional affordable houses per annum over each of the next 5 years.
Homelessness has also been increasing within Wrexham County Borough in recent years.
Several factors can be identified as contributing to this increase, including the shortfall in the
supply of affordable housing. Empty properties if suitably renovated and available could make
a significant contribution to the supply of affordable housing in the County Borough.
4.7
The Council’s Private Sector Housing Stock Condition Survey (2006) estimates that there are
approximately 543 long term empty properties in Wrexham (empty for more than 6 months). It
will be necessary to update our current records of known or suspected empty properties in the
private sector and an in-house survey of properties is underway based on information from
Council Tax records and Housing Standards team records. The proposed strategy (Appendix 1)
details the proposals for prioritising the properties which should receive the earliest attention.
4.8
The preparation of this Strategy has involved a full review of earlier work undertaken by
Wrexham County Borough Council and the work of other local authorities, government bodies
and relevant agencies. Current best practice has also been thoroughly researched in order to
assess how best to tackle the problems identified in Wrexham and where appropriate
incorporated into the option development process. Two clear aims have emerged from this
process:


4.9
To reduce the effects of empty property on the property owner, wider community and
Council services.
To reduce the number of long term empty private sector properties within Wrexham
County Borough and contribute to the local housing supply by bringing them back into
use.
The Strategy proposes to rely on a series of incremental steps and procedures applied to
individual empty property as appropriate and practicable. The first of these steps is to offer
advice and information to the owner. Where the property is presenting problems that give rise
to public health, nuisance or safety concerns then reactive enforcement will be considered.
Where owners are inclined to co-operate with the Council then opportunities such as the offer
of loans through the Home Improvement Trust for example, would be encouraged to bring
properties to a standard ready for occupation. This route would carry conditions on future
occupation and/or an expectation of nomination rights for the Council. It may also be feasible
for the Council’s Homelessness team to acquire the properties under private sector leasing
arrangements for a fixed period to provide temporary accommodation for homeless applicants.
4.10 After these options have been considered, should a property remain empty and the owner is not
taking action to return the property back into use then the use of more significant powers will
be considered, in particular Empty Dwelling Management Orders. With some exceptions, these
allow the Council to apply to the Residential Property Tribunal to secure control of the property
for a maximum period of seven years. This would permit the Council to bring the property up
to an appropriate standard and take over the management of the property. Repair costs would be
met by any rental income until paid off. The management and rental of the property could also
be undertaken by a Registered Social Landlord (RSL).
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5.
CONSULTATION
5.1
In August 2007 copies were forwarded to the Chief Officers of the following Departments for
consultation and comment:






Economic Development
Environment
Housing and Public Protection
Planning
Finance and Performance
Legal and Democratic Services
5.2
The draft strategy was presented to the members of the Wrexham Housing Alliance at the
September 2007 meeting.
5.3
A presentation was given to the Landlords’ Forum.
5.4
An Empty Property Officer Working Group has been set up to co-ordinate efforts to tackle
empty properties and has discussed the draft document.
6.
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
6.1
A report regarding the draft strategy was considered by the Social Affairs, Health and Housing
Scrutiny Committee on 21 November 2007. The Committee agreed:i
That the report be noted; and
ii
To recommend to the Executive Board that the Private Sector Empty Property Strategy,
as detailed in report CHPPO/133/07s, be adopted.
7.
IMPLICATIONS
7.1
Policy Framework – This strategy accords with the aims and objectives of the Council’s
corporate strategies, particularly the Local Housing Strategy.
7.2
Budget – The implementation of the strategy will be met within existing resources.
7.3
Legal – There are no identified legal implications from the report, however the extent of any
enforcement action taken under the powers available to the Council in relation to empty
properties in the private sector may impact on the workload of the Legal and Democratic
Services Department
7.4
Staffing – There are no staffing consequences arising from this proposed strategy.
7.5
Diversity (Equalities) - A full Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out for the
Strategy. No adverse impacts were identified as measures are already contained within the
Strategy to ensure any potential for adverse impact is eliminated.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
None.
LOCATION
N/A
WEBSITE INFO
None.
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