Owners of long-term empty homes in the Derbyshire Dales to be charged quadruple council tax

Homes that have been empty for 10 years or more will be charged quadruple in tax by Derbyshire Dales District Council from April 2023.

Meanwhile, homes empty for more than five years but less than 10 years will be charged triple council tax and homes empty for between two and five years will be charged double.

The authority says empty homes represent a “wasted resource” and that bringing these homes back into use is essential to provide sufficient housing for residents.

It also says the empty homes “can cause considerable problems for neighbours through heat loss, water ingress, vermin and overgrown gardens”.

Alongside this, the council is also to reintroduce the role of empty homes officer, at a cost of £38,000 a year, for an initial three years, to work with homeowners and speed up the process and help smooth over potential issues.

Council officers wrote that there was “inevitable push back” from owners of long-term empty properties when the double council tax charge was first brought in during the 2019 financial year.

They say that after three years of this charge, the total number of empty homes has reduced but the number of homes empty for more than two years has slightly increased.

In October 2019 there were 936 empty homes in the district, of which 175 had been empty for more than two years; but from October 2021 there were 776 empty homes in the Dales of which 181 have been empty for more than two years.

The number of homes empty for five or more years has reduced from 54 to 37 and the number of homes empty for 10 years or more has increased from 33 to 38.

Officers say the pandemic may have caused some delays to empty homes being brought back into use, such as renovations being pushed back.

A report to be discussed this week says: “Owners of empty homes responding to [the council] survey have clearly had issues through the pandemic attracting builders, experiencing a lack of buyers and other property specific issues which impact on their ability to undertake repairs.

“Those owners currently working on their property are concerned that the premium would impact their ability to fund the renovation cost.”

They also write: “The homes empty for more than 5 years and 10 years are not showing any significant signs of change.

“Leaving property empty for so long often leads to neighbour disputes, deterioration in the property and negatively impacts on the wider street scene.”

However, they write: “Anecdotal evidence from telephone calls from owners and monitoring of Rightmove and planning applications suggests however that some owners are responding to the premium and taking.”

Officers write that 229 properties were charged double council tax in the current financial year, bringing in an extra estimated £316,000, £44,000 of which is for the district authority.

The extra triple and quadruple council tax charges from next April are expected to bring in around £200,000, of which £28,000 would go to the district council.

Rob Cogings, the council’s head of housing, told a district council meeting last night (Jan 27): “A reasonable person would agree that a home being empty for more than five or more than ten years is a bit too long in terms of a house being empty and doing nothing and generally falling apart, which seems to be the case for a number of these properties.

“Some are reluctant empty homeowners and don’t have the wherewithal or resources to bring it back into use.

“Some people are in it just for the money, to see the property increase in value over time

“Some may have health issues preventing them from taking action

“Some people are making bad investments and we are not here to bail them out, if people are making poor decisions, in my mind, it is not for the public sector to bail them out.”

Cllr Colin Swindell said a property in his Elton ward, called Aqua Cottage, had been empty for 30 years but had now finally been bought off its previous owners.

He is sure the initial double council tax charge on the property was the difference which forced the sale.

However, he says the new owner, who is refurbishing it into a family home, has been hampered in his renovations in lockdown and is carrying out the work himself, and is now at risk of being charged the council tax premium himself.

Karen Henrikson, the council’s director of resources, said adjustments can be made on specific cases but there needs to be clear criteria and a level of evidence to decide and prove a case.

Cllr Mike Ratcliffe said: “It is another weapon which can be used by the empty homes officer that we are going to put in place.

“It is nothing short of a disgrace that you have got people clambering for accommodation and they’re in full sight of an empty house which is regarded as a bricks and mortar asset instead of as a genuine home provision.”