Item 11 - REVISED West Dunbartonshire Empty Homes Strategy 2024-2029
West Dunbartonshire Council · 20 November 2024
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 20 November 2024 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer, Housing and Employability Housing and Communities Committee: 20 November 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: West Dunbartonshire –Empty Homes Strategy 2024-2029 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the new Empty Homes Strategy 2024 -2029. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Housing and Communities Committee: (i) Approve the revised Empty Homes Strategy 2024 -2029; and (ii) Approve the target to return 125 homes back into use over the period of the strategy. 3. Background 3.1 West Dunbartonshire Council employs an Empty Homes Officer to provide advice and assistance to owners of long term empty private homes; that is properties that have been empty longer than six months. 3.2 The Scottish Government has recognised and prioritised the issue of empty properties by asking Local Authorities to demonstrate in their Local Housing Strategies how the issue of empty homes is being addressed. 3.3 According to Scottish Government figures, in September 2023, there were 46,217 long term empty homes across Scotland. West Dunbartonshire Council has 494 long term empty homes. 3.4 The Scottish Government has a vision of a Scotland where every home is occupied, and no homes are left empty for significant periods of time without good reason. There is a clear ambition to see empty homes services operating in every area of Scotland and for existing services to be enhanced where possible. 3.5 The Scottish Government’s ‘Housing to 2040’ has an ambition to deliver 100,000 homes over the period to 2032 and sets priorities that empty homes can help to deliver. 3.6 West Dunbartonshire had 1095 homeless presentations in the year 2023/24. and for the same period there were 5995 people on the waiting list. ITEM 11 (REVISED)
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3.7 Returning empty homes to use can help provide additional housing in the private sector and for social housing. It can help the authority deliver on the Local Housing Strategy’s priorities and objectives. • Housing Need and Demand - by making more properties available to be lived in • Promoting Quality Homes - those properties below tolerable standard are likely to be renovated to at least the repairing standard. • Homelessness and Housing Options - empty homes returned to use can help to alleviate some of the demand for social housing and provide more choice. • Place and Community - Places and communities are vitally important to both our resident’s health and well-being, and returning empty homes to use can remove the blight on a local community and help to create sustainable communities. 3.8 West Dunbartonshire’s housing stock is predominately split between home ownership at 56% and Registered Social Landlords and Local Authority housing stock at 37%. The private rented sector only accounts for 6% of the housing stock. Less than 1% of the housing stock is a second home. 3.9 The previous Empty Homes Strategy 2021-2024 aimed to return 75 empty homes back into use. During the period of the strategy, eighty-three properties of varying type, size and location have been brought back into use to provide the communities of West Dunbartonshire with more available housing. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The main reason for a property being empty in West Dunbartonshire is due to deceased owners. These properties can be difficult to bring back into use particularly where the person has died intestate. 4.2 West Dunbartonshire Council does also have long term empty private homes where owners cannot be traced, others have refused to engage and address the impact the empty property has on the neighbourhood and maintenance concerns have also been ignored. 4.3 Empty homes present challenges to those living in the vicinity of the empty property where they can experience increased vandalism, anti-social behaviour and impacts on emergency services, i.e. Police and Fire Service. 4.4 The Empty Homes Officer works closely with the Lead Buy Back Officer to help identify long term empty homes that meet the needs and demands for housing in West Dunbartonshire. 4.5 The only enforcement action available to assist Empty Homes Officers to return properties back into use is Compulsory Purchase Orders. However, these are time consuming and costly for local authorities. The Scottish
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Government has committed to reviewing Compulsory Purchase Orders and has set up Compulsory Purchase Reform group to oversee the review. 4.6 The Scottish Government had intended to legislate to introduce a Compulsory Sale Order power for vacant land and buildings. This would allow local authorities to force long term empty homes onto the open market. This would give the Empty Homes Officer an additional tool in those instances where all other means of engaging with the owner have been exhausted. The intended legislation that would introduce these powers had been delayed because of BREXIT and then further delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government is still considering this option; however, it is not included in the current Housing Bill. 4.7 The Empty Homes Officer collaborates closely with colleagues in Corporate Debt, Environmental Health, Planning, Building Standards, Regeneration, and Criminal Justice to try and overcome any obstacles preventing a home being returned to use. 4.8 On 1 May 2024, the Housing and Communities Committee declared a housing emergency in West Dunbartonshire, becoming the fifth local authority to do so by that date. On 15 May 2024 the Scottish Government too declared a housing emergency, formally recognising the scale of the problem. 4.9 Case studies 1 and 2 in the strategy document (appendix 1) show the wider financial advantages of the Empty Homes Officer work in bringing homes back into use. These cases resulted in Council Tax debt of £43,835.65 and £71,815.72 in care home costs being collected. This sum totals £115,651.37 being collected at the point of sale that would otherwise have remained outstanding without the intervention of the Empty Homes Officer. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no direct people implications because of this report. The Council continues to fund the Empty Homes Officers from the Housing Revenue Account. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 There are no direct procurement implications in relation to this report. 6.2 There are financial benefits to returning empty homes back into use with the case studies resulting in £115,651.37 being collected when the house sales concluded. For those properties purchased as a buy back this will also provide additional rent in perpetuity. 6.3 As at the end of June, the total outstanding council tax debt to West Dunbartonshire Council attributed to empty homes in the private sector was £874k, with an average debt per property of around £1.8k.
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7. Risk Analysis 7.1 There is no significant identifiable risk associated with the approval and implementation of the revised Empty Homes Strategy. 8 Environmental Sustainability 8.1 The delivery of our housing investment programme is within the approved More Homes zero carbon approach. Our current and future approach to strategic housing asset management will continue to prioritise a ‘zero carbon’ approach to decision making and deliverability and this will be done the aims of the Housing Asset Management Strategy and the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment 9.1 An Equality, Health and Human Rights Impact Assessment has been carried out on the draft Empty Homes Strategy and found positive Impact for a range of protected groups. The updated Empty Homes Strategy focus is to return as many empty private homes back into use as possible. This will provide additional availability of housing throughout the authority that would have remained empty without intervention. A copy of the assessment is included as appendix 3 to this report. 10. Consultation 10.1 A key element in the development of the revised Empty Homes Strategy was seeking the views of the West Dunbartonshire Tenants and Residents Organisation, the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, and internal stakeholders. 10.2 The consultation gathered views on the draft strategy and the feedback was used to update the strategy. 11. Strategic Assessment 11.1 Having considered the Council's strategic priorities, this report contributes significantly to all five strategic priorities and specifically to improve local housing and bring empty properties back into use. Peter Barry Chief Officer, Housing & Employability Date: 7 November 2024 ___________________________________________________________________
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Person to Contact: John Kerr – Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: john.kerr@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Karen Rae, Empty Homes Officer, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: karen.rae@west- dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: 1. Draft Empty Homes Strategy 2024 -2029 2. Equalities Impact Assessment, November 2024 Background Papers: 1. Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027 Wards Affected: All