This national Empty Homes Week, (Monday 3 March – Sunday 9 March) Calderdale Council is highlighting the support available and the work that takes place to help bring empty properties back into use, as well as the positive impacts that can be achieved.
There are currently around 2500 homes in Calderdale which are unoccupied and substantially unfurnished, over 1500 of these have been empty for more than six months.
Whilst some empty properties are a part of normal housing market conditions, others are an issue, and the Council works hard to reduce the number of long-term empty homes. The latest data shows that the number of long-term empty homes in Calderdale is the lowest it has been since 2021.
Although maintaining these properties is the owners’ responsibility, the Council can offer a range of support. This includes advice on how to get renovation projects moving again and information on topics such as selling and renting, work that can be carried out on empty properties, community-led solutions and short-term finance options.
It also works proactively to resolve issues which cause homes to become empty. One success story involves the partnership work between the Council and a probate researcher and genealogy company, Fraser & Fraser.
A long-term empty home in Shelf was going into disrepair and generating lots of complaints, as well as interest from people wanting to buy it. Following an investigation by Fraser & Fraser, family members of the deceased owner were identified. They were granted probate, which allowed the property to be put onto the market. It sold at auction in March 2023 and after significant renovation works the property was brought back into use and re-occupied in December 2024. It has made a massive difference to the row of terraces and is no longer an eyesore.
The Council is also working with local partners to support efforts to bring empty homes back into use. This includes an initiative with Womencentre Homes(external link), a Halifax based charity providing supported housing to women and their dependent children, escaping domestic abuse. The charity has already purchased three empty homes in the Park ward which have been renovated and brought back into use.
The charity now has funding to purchase three more and the Council is assisting by identifying and contacting the owners with information about their offer to purchase. Empty home owners in this area can contact cathy.wheatcroft@regen.org.uk for more information.
Long-term empty homes can cause nuisance to neighbours, potentially attracting anti-social behaviour and vandalism, as well as being a wasted housing resource in local communities. Bringing empty homes back into use, and converting vacant buildings into housing, increases the amount and range of housing available and complements new development.
In serious cases, the Council has the power to apply for a Compulsory Purchase Order for long-term empty properties which have fallen into disrepair and are causing issues. This allows the Council to acquire the property, if necessary, in order to ensure it is brought back up to habitable condition and is re-occupied.
These powers have been used recently for a very long-term empty property in the borough and work is underway to bring the property under Council ownership, ensuring it is brought back into use.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Housing, Cllr Scott Patient, said:
“Empty properties can be a real concern for local people. They not only blight communities, but they are also a wasted resource, which could be used to provide much-needed local housing.
“We do all we can to deter long-term empty homes, and we encourage owners to bring empty properties back into use and offer incentives for new owners to do this. If properties are left empty, we apply Council Tax premiums which increase the longer a property is unoccupied and unfurnished.
“In addition to communicating directly with owners, a lot of innovative partnership work is taking place to identify empty homes and look at solutions for bringing properties back into use. We’re making good progress reducing the number of empty properties and we’re happy to offer advice for any homeowners needing guidance.”
To find out more about the support available to owners of empty properties, or to highlight a local issue with an empty home, visit https://calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/housing/emptyhomes(external link)