20th March 2009
Housing minister Margaret Beckett has urged councils to take ‘firmer action’ against the owners of empty homes after it emerged that councils have only used 17 empty dwelling management orders since they were introduced in April 2006.
Ms Beckett said she was issuing new guidance to encourage local authorities to make better use of the powers.
‘Empty homes blight local neighbourhoods and can potentially attract anti-social behaviour. That is why councils must do all they can to bring empty homes in their area back into use,’ she said.
Kevin Thompson, CIEH policy officer, said few EDMOs had been issued because they were ‘resource-intensive’ and required ‘considerable expertise’.
‘The absence of detailed guidance and peer experience, together with scarce staff resources in private sector housing teams, go some way to explaining the small numbers seen so far,’ he said. ‘Also, in the current financial climate, there may be some jitters over their financial implications and perceived risk.’ He said the new guidance would help councils bring more homes back into use.
David Ireland from the Empty Homes Agency said smaller councils needed help to take over empty homes.
‘Although councils can in theory recover their costs when carrying out an EDMO, there is a big upfront bill of perhaps £70,000, which can only be fully recovered after seven years. Small councils simply can’t afford this. Making a fund available that councils can borrow against would make all the difference,’ he said.
Richard Tacagni, Lacors housing head, said the number of orders issued was not a true reflection of council activity. ‘Looking solely at the number of EDMOs is not a true reflection of council activity,’ he said. ‘Long-term empty home and derelict homes may be too costly to repair and councils will often consider other options like demolition.’
The guidance, published last week by the government and the Empty Homes Agency, calls on councils to track down owners of empty properties and use EDMOs as a threat to encourage owners to take action themselves.
The orders allow councils to take over and manage a house that has been unoccupied for at least six months.