Council expands Empty Homes Grant Scheme to support more local home buyers

A north Wales council has announced significant changes to its Empty Homes Grants Scheme to support more local residents to turn empty properties into quality homes.

The changes come as part of Cyngor Gwynedd’s ongoing efforts to tackle the high number of empty houses in the county and provide support for the people of Gwynedd to live locally.

The grant – which was previously only available to first-time buyers – will now be open to all eligible buyers. In addition, the maximum grant has been increased from £15,000 to £20,000, to reflect increases in the costs of goods and services over recent years.

The aim of the scheme, which has been active since 2021, is to bring empty properties back into use by offering a grant to renovate homes to an acceptable standard of living.

The £4 million scheme is funded by the Council Tax Premium on second homes and has already helped almost 170 residents across Gwynedd.

Cymuned

This is not the first adjustment to the grants scheme, with the Council extending the criteria in August 2023 to include empty houses that used to be second homes – that is a property where the owner was expected to pay the Council Tax Premium – further expanding the options available to local people to buy a home.

This is one of 33 projects in the Council’s £140 million Housing Action Plan to ensure that the people of Gwynedd have access to affordable homes in their own communities.

The Empty Homes Grants Scheme is one of many schemes available to help bring empty houses back into use. Other schemes include VAT reductions on the renovation of empty properties, loans from the Welsh Government, and Leasing Scheme Wales, which allows landlords to lease empty properties to the Council for a guaranteed income.

Gethin Jones, recipient of the Gwynedd Empty Home Grant, who has purchased a home in Chwilog near Pwllheli, said: “We are looking forward to settling down in our home here in Chwilog and start a new chapter as a family with a baby on the way.

“The Empty Homes Grant has helped us complete essential repairs to the house, such as installing new windows, rebuilding the chimney and electrical work, much more quickly than we would have been able to do on our own, and have the place ready for us as a family.

Without the grant, we wouldn’t be where we are now, that’s for sure! It means we can carry on working on the house and make it a home for years to come.

“The house had been empty for over a year before we moved in, and the former owner, a local woman, really wanted to sell it to local people.

“We both grew up close to Chwilog and it means a lot to us to be able to stay close to our families and raise our child in an area we know and love.”

Listening

Councillor Craig ab Iago, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Housing and Property Cabinet Member, said: “There are almost 5,400 empty houses in the county at the moment, including second homes, which is a stark contrast to the fact that almost 900 people presented themselves as homeless in Gwynedd during the last year.

“It’s completely immoral that so many homes in Gwynedd are empty when the demand for housing is so high and this intervention, along with other measures in the Council’s Housing Action Plan, is crucial to safeguarding the future of our communities.

“We have listened to the people of Gwynedd – more and more people need our support, whether they are first time buyers or a family in dire need of a bigger house. Prices have also risen since we launched the scheme in 2021, and we have adapted to reflect this reality by increasing the grant that is offered.

“I would encourage anyone looking to buy an empty house or a former second home to look at the Council’s website for more details or contact the Council’s Empty Homes team for a chat.”

For more information about the Gwynedd Empty Homes Grant Scheme and other housing schemes, visit the Cyngor Gwynedd website: Empty homes (llyw.cymru)