Housing providers in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset have won new Government funding to bring empty homes back into use. Backed by their unitary authorities, the Bristol Community Housing Foundation, Jephson Housing Association and Alliance Homes, will bring 52 properties back into use over the next three years.
“This award . . . will support the existing work by the authority to bring 430 empty homes a year back into use," said Councillor Anthony Negus, Bristol's Cabinet Member for Housing, Property Services and Regeneration. "Identifying homes that are standing empty and bringing them back into occupancy has an important role to play in addressing the urgent need for housing in Bristol,” he added. The funding will also support the work by South Gloucestershire Council which has a target of bringing 160 empty homes a year back into use.
The investment has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency's (HCA) Empty Homes Programme which is investing £70m in bringing around 5,600 empty homes back into use across England. It will enable the registered providers to buy or lease empty properties. In some cases the providers will be buying empty properties outright, repairing them and then letting them to local people. In other cases they will be leasing the properties from owners for a period of five or seven years, repairing them and then letting them for the period of the lease.
Some of the money comes in the form of a grant from government, some of it in the form of a ‘revolving’ loan. This is a new arrangement where registered providers, local authorities and an independent not-for-profit financial organisation, Wessex Home Improvement Loans, work together to bring empty homes back into use.
Colin Molton, HCA executive director for the South and South West, said: “One of the HCA’s key aims is to maintain a supply of affordable homes. With thousands of homes and properties lying empty across England, we have a leading role to play in tackling the issue of empty homes blighting our communities, and this funding is welcomed.”
Once the loan money has been used to buy and repair the property, it is repaid from rent and can then be recycled to bring another empty back into use. Bristol City and South Gloucestershire Councils have been working hard to bring empty properties back into use and expect to bring more than 600 empty units back into use over the coming year. In many cases, both councils work with owners giving advice and assistance on how to get their empty homes back into use as soon as possible.
However, both local authorities also take firm action through compulsory purchase and Empty Dwelling Management Orders to ensure that empty homes are repaired and brought into use. How is Bristol doing?
In 2008-09 – Target for bringing empty private homes into use – 270
- Actual number returned into use – 312
2009-10 – Target for bringing empty homes into use – 320
- Actual number brought back into use – 390
2010 –2011 – Target for bringing empty homes into use – 400
- Actual number brought back into use – 443
2011-12 – Target for bringing homes into use – 443
- Actual number brought back into use (as of Oct 2011) – 250
