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25
Aug 2021
Bid to bring Harrogate district empty homes back into use
A senior Harrogate councillor has agreed to offer taxpayers’ cash to buy three empty homes and bring them back into use.
Councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, signed off a decision at a meeting yesterday to make offers for the homes on Greenfields Drive and Electric Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth.
If agreed by the owners, the council will appoint an independent valuer to provide a market valuation of the properties before selling them on the open market.
But if the offers are ignored or refused, enforcement action will be taken through compulsory purchase orders.
Councillor Chambers said:
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811 empty properties in Harrogate district
There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for more than six months – a figure which has risen from 774 in May.
Of the latest figure, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years, while 31 have been empty for over ten years.
The council has previously admitted there is a “desperate” lack of affordable homes in the district and said it was working hard to bring empty properties back into use.
It has also set aside around £2.5m to purchase these properties from their owners.
There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.
Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them, while others can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.
As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, councils also have powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.
Empty dwelling management orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.
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