Empty Homes Strategy

The Council has introduced an Empty Homes Strategy to deal with the problems caused by homes which are left vacant for long periods of time by their owners.

Empty homes in the Borough lead to issues relating to anti-social behaviour, are unattractive and a waste of potential housing which could be better utilised.

As a result of these issues the Council has identified a number of empty properties in the Borough. The Council can levy an ‘empty homes premium’ where properties have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for over two years, which is 150% of the Council Tax normally applicable to the property.

These properties are being focussed on at the start of this project as they are the longest empty homes in the Borough but we will be looking at any empty over 6 months in the future to try to engage with owners at an earlier stage.

The Strategy has been published following public consultation - view the Empty Homes Strategy 2017-2020