Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation of the Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth which provided an update on empty homes within County Durham as requested by the Audit Committee on 30 September 2024 (for copy see file of minutes).

Councillor A Watson thanked the Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager for an explicit presentation.  He acknowledged that it would take years to deal with all the empty homes in County Durham.

Councillor D Sutton-Lloyd questioned whether targets should be revised if the team were exceeding them.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager agreed that the team suppressed targets last year which had included easy wins.  However, it was unrealistic to adapt targets as the team had to focus on properties which caused real issues in the community which were not as easy to resolve.

Councillor D Sutton-Lloyd queried what percentage of empty homes were held up due to probate.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager confirmed there were 12% of properties held up due to probate. The teams main focus was on these properties as they caused the main issues and were often complex to resolve.

Mr F Barnish thanked the Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager for the presentation.  He had found that empty properties were a serious subject in his community and was delighted that the Council had a hard-hitting approach to the issue.  He asked what impact the council had on increasing council tax on these properties and what was action was taken on those people who did not pay.  He queried how many compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) took place and how complex these processes were.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager responded that the Environmental Health team focused enforcement powers on some owners.  Lobbying was underway to make the process easier by transferring these powers to the Empty Homes team so they could also focus on enforcement going forward.

P Darby gave clarity on the comment made by Mr F Barnish that some empty homeowners did not pay council tax was incorrect.  He added that every empty home which was unoccupied for up to 12 months had a 100% council tax levied against the property.  It the property was empty and unoccupied for 1 year to 5 years this doubled, if the property was empty for 5 years to 10 years 300% was charged, and if the property was empty for more than 10 years 400% was applied.  If the homeowner did not pay, then enforcement action would be taken, and the homeowner would be taken to court or even put in prison.  Empty homeowners were more inclined to pay rather than engage with the empty homes team.  Recovery of council tax was made in most cases and the council had set a target of 80% recovery. 

Mr F Barnish was not aware of this information as these factors were not communicated.  He asked if there were performance indicators and queried if this information could be made available.

P Darby stated that council tax levies and recovery was provided in Audit reports.  In relation to performance indicators this came under the remit of the Corporate Management Overview and Scrutiny Board to monitor.

Councillor R Ormerod asked how far the council came to collecting enhanced council tax rates on empty homes.

P Darby replied that the council achieved the collection of enhanced council tax rates.  Within the finances it was estimated to collect 80% when calculating council tax accounts as there were issues collecting 99% due to more difficult properties.

Councillor B Kellett queried why people bought coastal houses if they were not going to be lived in as the asset depreciated and accumulated council tax debt. He asked how council tax was collected if people lived out of the area and if this was an expensive process.

P Darby responded that there were different motivations for owners to buy properties, one being that they were bought in areas of potential high regeneration where CPOs could be issued therefore making them money.  Enforcement Agencies pursued homeowners for nonpayment of council tax irrespective of where they lived.  He acknowledged it was an expensive process.

Mr C Robinson referred to the new focused Empty Homes Strategy and queried what the key changes were.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager stated that the new Empty Homes Strategy would implement a reassignment of focus for the Empty Homes Team. At present the team relied on Neighbourhood Wardens and other officers within the council to undertake their roles to make properties safe.  The changes would focus on those long-term empty properties that caused the real issues and took a significant amount of resources to resolve. 

Mr C Robinson stated that the strategy did not underline a difference just a shift in focus.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager added that there would be subtle changes, but the important one would be focussing on those properties which caused the biggest issues and had the biggest impact on the community with the aim to make significant positive changes.

Mr F Barnish declared that Ferryhill Town Council were desperate to help in this ambition.  He that queried if there were any powers that could be deployed to them to help.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager believed it was important to involve town and parish councils as they had the local knowledge when it came to empty properties which were causing issues in the area.

Councillor A Watson asked how homeowners could access the grants to enable properties to be put back into use.

The Building Safety and Housing Standards Manager confirmed that there were loans available which could be accessed through the Empty Homes Team, who would determine whether an owner was eligible.

Resolved:

That the presentation be noted.