Empty Homes

Impact of empty homes

Long term empty homes can have a large impact on the local community and their owners:

• Reduction in the value of the empty home and the neighbouring properties
• Attracting illegal and anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping, vandalism and arson
• Additional renovation costs to the owner as the empty home deteriorates over time
• Environmental health risks from vermin and waste plus the additional clearance costs to the owner
• Increased risk of squatters
• A wasted resource when so many people are in need of housing

The Private Sector Housing Policy Framework sets out the Council's broad approach to its support for and work with private sector housing including empty homes. The Framework can be viewed on the link below and should be read in conjunction with the latest Housing Act Notice Charges document.

Report a problem empty home

Empty homes bring down an area and threaten the health of the local community.  If a privately-owned home is causing problems like this, report it to us now:

Phone: 01205 314 200

Email the housing standards team