The Guardian features No Use Empty – Sep 2012

Kent’s successful No Use Empty scheme is now targeting derelict hotels, pubs and civic buildings to turn them into habitable homes. Photograph: Alamy In 2005 Kent county council launched its No Use Empty (NUE) scheme,an initiative to tackle the county’s…
Kent’s successful No Use Empty scheme is now targeting derelict hotels, pubs and civic buildings to turn them into habitable homes. Photograph: Alamy

In 2005 Kent county council launched its

No Use Empty (NUE) scheme,an initiative to tackle the county’s 9,000 empty properties. Since then – during which time Kent has created more 2,100 new homes out of empty dwellings – the issue of empties has risen up the political agenda.

In April, the government-appointed architect and television presenter George Clarke as its first empty homes advisor. In the same way that Mary Portas has highlighted the plight of the high street, Clarke will raise awareness of the number of empty homes (thought to be as many as 750,000) to return them to use.

The government has already established an £80m empty homes fund. At the time of writing, approximately £60m of that pot has been allocated across 20 local authorities to fund schemes to bring these properties back into use.

Kent’s No Use Empty – the UK’s most successful empty homes project – provides a template that many other authorities look set to follow. Last year, Bristol city council and all authorities under the West of England banner adopted the scheme, a recognition of how effective it has been for Kent.

The major obstacle facing many councils is a shortage of resources. Returning an empty home to use requires considerable manpower. Empty homes officers have to be patient and persistent to identify owners of empty properties and work with them to make use of those homes. Officers also need to have a good knowledge of legal, tax and probate issues in order to advise owners on the best course of action. That’s why No Use Empty was delivered by Kent county council in partnership with four other local authorities from the outset, and is now adopted by all 12 authorities in Kent. Coming together on a project like this allows councils to pool resources, share knowledge and work together to develop best practice.

The other major obstacle are owners themselves. In many cases, homeowners are reluctant to engage with the local authority and to do the necessary work to bring a property back into use. It is important that councils provide a clear incentive for owners.

No Use Empty offers financial assistance to owners. Given the difficulty of accessing finance in the current economic climate, providing loans of up to £25,000 per property for owners from our NUE loan fund is essential for getting refurbishment work off the ground. We lend the money (up to a maximum of £175,000 per owner) on the condition that these homes are then rented out privately or sold. Owners can use the NUE loan to leverage further funds from banks and other funders.

To date we have issued more than £5.5m in loans to homeowners, which has leveraged a further £12.5m in investment for these properties. Of the homes we have already brought back into use, roughly one in 10 has been as a result of a council loan.

In the cases where owners simply refuse to engage with us, we have the option of acquiring the property through a compulsory purchase order, or assuming responsibility for the management of the property via an empty dwelling management order. These are rarely employed, but necessary, tools in dealing with problem properties. Research suggests that derelict homes can depreciate the value of nearby occupied properties by 18% and provide a catalyst for crime and antisocial behaviour.

We are currently embarking on a new phase in the NUE scheme which will see us concentrate on larger empty buildings as well as empty homes. In the past we have carried out project work on disused hotels, empty churches and derelict pubs, which can be converted into new homes or apartments. In these cases, it is crucial to offer financial assistance to owners as the cost of converting larger properties is likely to be prohibitive.

We also offer assistance with the management of the new properties once the work is complete. Kent council has partnered with housingassociation AmicusHorizon, which will let the houses, handle the management of the properties and guarantee a rental income for a period of up to five years.

According to the charity Empty Homesthere are enough empty homes in the UK to house half the people on our lengthy council waiting lists. We should see many more local authorities taking action to tackle the problem.

Steve Grimshaw is project manager for Kent county council’s No Use Empty scheme