Agenda item

This report presents the updated Empty Homes Strategy. The Strategy was initially implemented in 2022, and has been updated to reflect changes in the national and local context, providing a framework for the Council’s approach to reducing the number of Empty Homes within the district and mitigating their impacts.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report which concerned the updated Empty Homes Strategy.  The Strategy had been initially published in 2022, in February 2024 the Strategy had been reviewed and updated by a multi service working group to reflect changes in the national and local context which provided a framework for the Council’s approach to reducing the number of Empty Homes within the district.

There was no statutory requirement to have an Empty Homes Strategy, however it was regarded as good practice to have a Strategy in place which aimed to provide transparency and consistency in the Council’s approach to Empty Homes.   

Long term empty homes were defined as those properties that had been vacant for over two years.  The Strategy covered residential empty homes only.  The majority of empty homes were privately owned but there was a small number owned by South Kesteven District Council.  Recent figures as at May 2024 indicated that there were 154 long term empty homes with South Kesteven. Fifteen of these properties were owned by South Kesteven District Council and were the responsibility of the Voids Team and were not within the scope of the Strategy.  The tools available within the Strategy were not applicable to Council owned housing.

The number of empty homes within South Kesteven was below the national average which stood at 1.02% of properties empty over six months.  In South Kesteven .99 of a percent of homes had been empty over six months.  The focus of the Strategy was on those houses that had been empty for two years or more.  Those properties would be RAG rated (red, amber, green) and reviewed against service interactions to create a priority list to see which properties had the most impact on communities.

The use of the Strategy was for an approach to offer advice and guidance, however there were enforcement tools available if required. 

Although the Strategy had been revised, the priorities listed had not changed since the original Strategy was published in 2022.   The document had been streamlined and information added about the benefit of bringing empty homes back into circulation and the concerns that long term empty properties presented.  Figures had been updated to present both the national and local picture.  Appendix 2 of the Strategy detailed updated enforcement options.

The Cabinet Member then made reference to the 15 properties owned by the Council.  The properties all had legitimate reasons for being empty.  Some were part of wider redevelopment schemes whilst the majority of the properties were used as decamp properties whilst repairs were carried out.

Members discussed the document and the following comments were made:

·       What was the membership of the Working Group referenced, it would have been helpful if this had been included within the report – the working group had been made up of operational Officers from service areas that had dealings with empty homes, it was felt that perhaps the terminology used had been misleading as it was not a Member Working Group.

·       The Strategy appeared to be a “new” document as it had been reduced from 15 to 10 pages – the document had been streamlined and unnecessary information taken out.

Members were supportive of the proposed Empty Homes Strategy and it was proposed, seconded and unanimously RECOMMENDED to Cabinet for adoption.

Recommendation

That the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommend the updated Empty Homes Strategy to Cabinet for adoption.