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EHA: Empty homes should play a role

Wednesday, 3 September 2008 12:00 AM

The Empty Homes Agency (EHA) has argued empty homes in England should play a key role in alleviating the present crisis of confidence in the housing market.

Following the announcement the stamp duty threshold will scrapped for all properties worth £175,000 and under for the next 12 months by the government, the EHA argues empty homes could also play a central role in restoring confidence to the market.

The latest official statistics show over 750,000 homes remain unoccupied in England alone, composed of a surplus flats built for buy-to-let landlords, failed private rented properties and homes left empty pending delayed regeneration schemes.

However, the package of government measures announced - which includes interest free loans to a limited number of first-time buyers and the extension of shared equity schemes - makes no mention of empty homes.

"Keeping people in their homes is critical, we certainly don't need any more vacant housing," explained chief executive of the EHA, David Ireland.

"But government should do far more to deal with homes that are already empty.

"If they did they would create more homes, more quickly than relying on ailing house-builders to build new ones."

In response the EHA is calling on the government to introduce a series of measures aimed at stimulating the market to reuse empty homes, encouraging short-life occupation of temporarily vacant property and enabling councils to tackle the worst long term empty homes.

The measures include:

  • Cut the cost of renovating derelict empty homes by cutting VAT on repair and maintenance.
  • Introduce a fund to help local authorities use Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO) to tackle the worst long term empty homes.
  • Bring back purchase and repair grants to allow housing associations to create new affordable homes out of run down empty property.
  • Require all surplus publicly owned housing be used for short-life housing or property guardian schemes, and not left empty.
  • Amend commercial property rate relief rules to allow owners of empty property used temporarily as housing to continue to claim rate relief.
  • Change the council tax rules to replace the current six-month exemption from council tax and discount for long-term empty homes with a six-month discount.

Chris O'Toole

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