Residential Accommodation: Empty Homes

Baroness Thornhill Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. The reality is that the Government have taken many steps with regard to permitted development rights to try to get some of those non-residential properties into residential use. I am sure that my noble friend is aware of some of them, but I would be delighted to give him some statistics from the department in writing.

[Baroness Thornhill (LD)]

My Lords, there is ample evidence that the threshold for a council to prove that a home is empty is too high, either for compulsory purchase or, as the noble Baroness mentioned, to use empty dwelling management orders. Will the Government seriously consider removing the need to prove that there has been either vandalism, anti-social behaviour or dangerous dereliction before a council can even begin to take action? Often, once the action has started it can take years to complete. That is a significant barrier to councils taking important action.

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question; I am sure she is aware that the LGA published a report in September which clarifies and helps focus on the practical tools that councils can use to bring empty properties back into use. However, not only the measures I just referred to are available to local authorities; they can of course use money from the £11.5 billion affordable homes programme to bring empty properties back into use. They can benefit from the new homes bonus, incentivising them to find ways to reduce the number of empty homes and to make sure that they remove as many barriers as possible. Local authorities can also use compulsory purchase orders to acquire empty properties where there is a compelling case in the public interest. Lots of tools are available to councils, and we are trying to make it easier by working with them to identify what those barriers are and how we might eliminate them.