Agenda item

Executive report for decision.

Scrutiny report to note.

ORDERED that Executive

 

1.    Notes the report of the Place Scrutiny Panel into Empty Properties and the accompanying recommendations; and

2.    Approves the Action Plan prepared by the service in response to the recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Place Scrutiny Panel had undertaken a review entitled Empty Properties. A copy of the full report was attached. The Scrutiny Panel had made twelve recommendations upon which a response was sought from the relevant service area.

 

The recommendations of the Scrutiny Panel were:

 

A.    Introduce a charge of 100% Empty Property Council Tax Premium after year 1 instead of year 2 which it is currently.

B.    Impose the maximum premium for properties which have been empty for 10 years or more.

C.   Ensure that all enforcement powers available to the Council such as Completion Notices and Demolition Orders in relation to empty properties are utilised where appropriate and justify any failure to do so.

D.   Produce a database of derelict empty properties and report annually to the Executive and/or the Place Scrutiny Panel.

E.    Review empty properties across the town by carrying out data matching using the electoral register, council tax list and business rate list.

F.    Make greater use of Compulsory Purchase Orders for residential properties and smaller commercial properties such as small shops below flats. For commercial properties investigate schemes such as the High Street Rental Auctions scheme.

G.   Explore how the Selective Landlord Licensing Scheme can be made into less of a deterrent to letting out empty properties, by allowing landlords to pay the Selective Landlord License fee over 60 monthly payments instead of up front. Also by providing a waiver of future payments if the landlord sells the property.

H.   Encourage Social Housing Providers to demolish uneconomical properties that cannot be brought back into use or encourage them to sell to other developers or owner occupiers and to reinvest any money generated into their current stock.

I.      Investigate if CPOs can be issued for unsafe buildings so that they can be demolished by the Council and associated costs passed onto the owner.

J.     Explore ways of getting long-term empty properties back into use through affordable rents/full market rents or owner occupation as well as social rent.

K.    Investigate if empty social housing properties that are difficult to let could be used by the council to provide temporary accommodation.

L.    Explore all possible channels of funding and work with more developers, social housing providers and private landlords to bring empty properties back into use, including office to residential conversions.

M.   Explore alternative ways of dealing with non-residential empty properties that have been taken out of the rateable value ratings where the owner shows no intention of developing the property. Seek to ask Government to change rules on the valuable rating system so not to be exploited/abused by landlords.

 

The Executive Members for Development, Environment and Sustainability and Development submitted a service response to the recommendations of the Scrutiny Panel. A copy of the action plan was appended to the report.

 

The Chair of the Place Scrutiny Panel introduced and presented the Scrutiny report and summarised the recommendations of the Panel.

 

The Executive Members for Development, Environment and Sustainability and Finance provided a response to the Scrutiny report and presented the Service Response.

 

The Executive Member for Finance advised that she welcomed the report and stated that some of the recommendations were addressed as part of the existing empty properties strategy.

 

It was commented that the relevant Executive Member would work with the Chair of the Panel to raise this matter with Council and MPs to ensure the issue received a high profile both locally and regionally.

 

The Mayor stated that, where possible, an update should be provided to Scrutiny on this issue before the January meeting of Executive.  

 

ORDERED that Executive

 

1.    Notes the report of the Place Scrutiny Panel into Empty Properties and the accompanying recommendations; and

2.    Approves the Action Plan prepared by the service in response to the recommendations.

 

REASONS

 

It was a requirement that Executive formally considered the Scrutiny Panel’s report and confirmed the service area’s response to the accompanying plan.