Owners of empty homes in city face local authority crackdown

It is proposed the numbers of homes across the district that are sitting empty are reduced over the next six years in a move which a report to be considered by councillors describes as “one of the district’s high priorities.”

Over the last three years the numbers of unused properties has reduced but councillors will be told when they meet next week that the city has a greater percentage of long-term privately-owned empty homes than Liverpool, Manchester or Leeds.

Figures in a draft report produced for Bradford Council’s regeneration and economy and overview committee show Bradford has 2.86 per cent, in comparison with 2.64 per cent in Liverpool, 2.36 per cent in Manchester and 1.95 per cent in Leeds.

The draft report, which will be discussed on Thursday, says: “As the local population is rapidly growing and house building activity is at a record low, the need for housing, including affordable homes, is at an unprecedented level.

“Reusing empty homes can provide the much needed homes offering a welcome alternative to new house building.”

Figures for 2010/11 show that there are 7,137 properties in the district that have been unused for more than six months and 3,640 with nobody living in them for less than six months. Figures from last month suggest there are currently 6,292 long-term empty homes.

Most empty homes occur due to people moving home, tenancies ending, the death of the householder or the occupant moving into care. The authority says most empty homes can come swiftly back into use through the normal sale process.

The report adds: “Empty homes cause a blight within their neighbourhoods and undermine efforts to regenerate areas and build the sustainability of communities.

“By bringing empty homes back into use, it helps to support the efforts of communities and partners to improve housing conditions and the wider environment and reduces vandalism, crime and the fear of crime.

“The re-use of empty homes increases the number and availability of homes which can be accessed by individuals and families in housing need thereby reducing pressure on scarce social housing resources and making best use of our existing housing stock.”

The problem of empty homes is widely acknowledged across the country - in England there are currently around 750,000.

In Bradford, the problem is coupled with an increasing population, currently standing at just over 500,000 and which is expected to hit at least 640,000 over the next 25 years. At March 2011 the average house price in the city was £103,944. They peaked in February 2008 at £126,594.

A number of wards have a higher than average proportion of disused homes and in some, such as the city centre, for example, there are a number of unused flats.

In the city centre, the report says, the most common type of empty homes are flats, clustered in a few less visible areas. It blames “speculative purchase” and “market failure” as a reason why they are lying unused. Manningham also has a number of disused flats - this is partly because there is greater demand for family houses.

The authority has already increased the amount of council tax to be paid on long term empty homes from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and work is already underway tackling a number of issues. Measures that can be used to tackle the problem include working with partners, keeping a record of empty homes, bringing together potential purchasers, loans to help bring properties back into use, referral to a tenant finding service, the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders and demolition of property if it is no longer economically viable.