Empty homes are ‘a scandal’ when so many are homeless

Dale Spridgeon – Local democracy reporter

A council scrutiny committee has branded the number of empty houses in the UK a “scandal” when so many people are homeless.

The comments came as Cyngor Gwynedd’s Care Scrutiny Committee had been discussing empty homes in the county.

Housing Cabinet Member Cllr Paul Rowlinson was updating the committee on  the council’s efforts to return empty properties back into use, on Wednesday (September 25).

‘Problem’

Cllr  Rowlinson said: “It is a scandal that so many houses are empty when there are  so many people homeless”  and added that it was not just a problem faced in Wales, but a UK wide issue.

The council’s work was “to get to grips” with empty properties, which he said “were a waste of resources”

“The work is a priority for the council and part of its efforts to help solve the county’s  housing crisis,” he said.

In Gwynedd, there were now 1,306 empty properties, the meeting heard. The number had reduced since the introduction of the council’s housing action plan.

Some 299 empty properties had been brought back into use, exceeding the council’s own target of 282.

But there were still “significant numbers” of houses empty for many years which “created considerable problems” seeing tax and enforcement teams “take action on some of the most problematic”.

‘Difficult’

Cllr Beth Lawton queried  the number of long term empty homes in Gwynedd,  where people paid the tax but where they were still  unoccupied, and asked about  those that had “fallen out of the system”.

Housing officer Gareth Owen said “considerable work” was undertaken in dealing with empty homes and at times it was  “very difficult”.

There had been work to target the type of homes sitting empty for long periods, at  times the number had been as high as 1450.

Further work to find the type of houses was ongoing  and  there were “considerable numbers standing empty” he said.

Cllr Rowlinson said council tax premiums on empty homes was aimed at encouraging owners to bring empty homes back into use.

He noted that some councils increased the level the longer a property stood empty.

“In Gwynedd no decisions have been made” but  he added that ” discussions were in the pipeline over what to do about longer term empty homes” he said.

“We are considering increasing, maybe after three or five years, that is the kind of timeline we might consider.

“The discussions are only in their early stages, there needs to be much more work, consultation, scrutiny before moving forward with that,” he said.

Cllr Gwynfor Owen welcomed the report, saying it was a good idea to look at houses empty for a lengthy time and to raise their premiums “considerably, say after five years”.

Warning

But he warned  the scheme should  not be a “one size fits all” and queried the council’s one year rule.

“There are houses that take more time to sell in some parts of Gwynedd than others.

“There are also different kinds of houses, a smaller one might sell sooner than a bigger one, or the other way round.

“Thinking about people who have lost relatives, left with a house on their hands, it doesn’t mean they have the money, but they may just have a house.

“A one year period does not give them much time to sell,” adding “I think it is rather unfair on some,  I know it’s difficult.

Although aware of the council’s systems in place to help people unable to afford tax demands , he said, in this case “…it can cause great concern and worry for people who may have just lost a relative..

“I  just wanted to put the observation out there”.

He also described an empty building in his ward, as a “headache” where “dozens of people resided at one time” but had been empty for several years, and had attracted problems, anti-social behaviour and mess.

Cllr Lawton acknowledged Cllr Owen’s concerns over bereaved relatives, adding for them to be expected to do work on an empty house in a year was “a huge task” adding it “wasn’t easy to get a builder”.

But she noted that the “council tax premium doesn’t  kick in until probate kicks in, which  can be a lengthy time”.

In a query over how many second homes had come back into use, Cllr  Owen said “not as many as hoped, only about four” It was increasing, and it was hoped it would  increase as they proceeded.