Almost 100 empty homes in the local area have been brought back into use thanks to support by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Councillor Matt McCabe with the owner of the refurbished property in Bath | Photo © B&NES Council
With 943 properties in the district lying empty for more than six months, and 454 of those for more than a year, the local authority’s Empty Property Service is working with owners to identify the barriers to bringing the homes back to a standard where they can be lived in, and offering them support to make that happen.
There is no specific legislation preventing a property being left empty indefinitely, providing it is maintained to an acceptable standard and the Council Tax is paid.
However Bath & North East Somerset Council is developing Enforced Sale and Compulsory Purchase Orders procedures for empty properties as part of its Housing Plan, so that high-level enforcement action can be taken in future.
A 3-bed terraced house in Brougham Hayes in Bath that first became vacant in 2001 and lay derelict, resulting in many complaints from neighbouring properties including issues with vermin, has now been refurbished by the new owner and was recently let to new residents.
The property regularly generated complaints dating back to 2003 to the council’s environmental protection team, and a previous owner complied with an order to clear waste and overgrowth from the garden in 2017, however no further steps to maintain the house were taken by that owner.
The council supported the new owner to buy the property in 2024 by acting as a point of contact with third parties such as auctioneers and the Insolvency Service, then providing advice and support once the sale was made, including an Empty Property Small Works Grant.
The Empty Property Service aims to bring homes back into use both by providing empty property assistance and by carrying out enforcement action based on the impact on neighbouring houses.
Councillor Matt McCabe, cabinet member for built environment, housing and sustainable development, said, “Bringing empty homes back into use benefits the environment, the economy and the community surrounding them.
“It can be a very difficult process because the owners of long-term empty properties are typically hard to engage.
“They are often vulnerable people navigating complex situations surrounding the empty property, such as bereavement, ill health or financial difficulties.
“It’s fantastic to see the house at Brougham Hayes become a lovely home once more. This represents months of hard work and collaboration between our Empty Property Officer, internal teams at the council and property owners.
“Through our ambitious Housing Plan we have committed to providing new homes in the right places, but also to ensuring that existing homes are safe and meet residents’ needs.
“Empty homes offer a more environmentally sustainable option for increasing housing stock than building new property and through our Empty Property Service we are helping to maximise the use of housing stock and help people find a place they can call home.”
Under Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Empty Residential Property Policy, the council will intervene once a privately owned home has been empty for six months.
Properties that have been empty for more than a year are subject to an Empty Property Council Tax Premium. Since 2017, 825 properties have been brought back into use under the Empty Residential Property Policy.
