Council increases grant amount for empty home renovations

A Welsh council has announced a series of significant changes to its grants scheme as part of ongoing efforts to bring the county’s empty homes back into use and into the hands of local people.

From 1 August, the maximum amount available through Gwynedd’s Empty Homes Grants Scheme has been increased from £20,000 to £25,000. The income threshold, which was previously £60,000 per household, is now set at £60,000 per individual or £80,000 per couple, recognizing the general increase in wages.

The method for determining which properties are eligible for the grant has also changed. Rather than using the cost of the property as a basis, the new system will use Council Tax Bands. This means that any homes in bands A to D are now eligible for the grant.

Renovations

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 grant is available to renovate houses that have been empty for 6 months or more, and vacant dwellings that used to be second homes – that is, properties where the owner was expected to pay a Council Tax Premium. So far, the grant has helped bring 112 houses back into use, and on average the grants support 3.5 local contractors on each application.

The £4.7 million scheme is funded by the Council Tax Premium on Second Homes and Empty Houses and has already helped 215 residents across Gwynedd. This is one of 30 projects in the Council’s £197 million Housing Action Plan to ensure that the people of Gwynedd have access to affordable homes in their own communities.

The Empty Homes Grants is one of several schemes available to help bring empty homes back into use. Other schemes include VAT reductions on the renovation of empty properties and loans from the Welsh Government. As a result of all these initiatives, 284 empty homes have been brought back into use since 2021.

Housing crisis

Gwynedd Council Housing and Property Cabinet Member, Councilor Paul Rowlinson said: “It saddens me to see houses standing empty and being wasted. We are facing a housing crisis locally and nationally.

“This grant scheme enables local people to give new life to vacant buildings, turning them into quality homes. The scheme has already proven its value, helping hundreds of residents throughout the county to bring empty houses back into use, and on top of that, to buy affordable houses within their communities.

“We recognize that the costs of renovating these houses have increased significantly over the last few years. That is why the Council has increased the grant from £20,000 to £25,000 in order to give more effective support to those renovating empty houses. We have also raised the salary threshold to allow more people to benefit from the scheme.”.

“I would encourage anyone who intends to buy an empty house or a property that used to be a second home to look at the Council’s website for more information or contact the Council’s Empty Homes team for a chat about these grants.”

For more information about the Gwynedd Empty Homes Grant Scheme and other housing schemes, visit the Gwynedd Council website: Empty homes. It’s also possible to check if a property qualifies for the grant by searching for the house’s Council Tax Band on the Council’s website. Go to the ‘Where I live’ section, and enter the postcode: Residents