Stoke-on-Trent: Innovative Methods to Unlock Empty Homes

Background

Stoke-on-Trent’s housing stock reflects its industrial history, with a large number of Victorian terraced properties located around the urban core of the city in Hanley and Burslem.  These are often unpopular as they provide limited accommodation for families, small outdoor spaces and often no parking facilities.  Low demand for these properties has resulted in a large number of them standing empty across the city.

 Issues such as high levels of deprivation, low economic investment and low income levels have also had a major impact on the housing market.  Low incomes have meant limited investment into properties leading to high levels of disrepair across the private sector.

There is a high demand for social housing which has shown a marked increase since 2004, with 9,642 households currently on the waiting list.  However the number of vacancies within the social housing register has decreased year on year since 2000.  With a declining number of social housing voids,  the council realised that it was necessary to look to the private sector to provide housing for those in need. 

 The total housing stock in Stoke-on-Trent stands at 112,640 properties.  Of these 4.2%, that is, , approximately 4,756 properties are standing empty, with 2,854 long term over six months (as at October 2010).

In 2006 the council began to prioritise work to reduce the number of empty properties in the city and make an impact on the housing register.  Initially this was through a pilot scheme run over 2006/07, funded by the Homelessness Innovation Fund.  This enabled the appointment of a temporary empty homes officer, which was subsequently rolled out into a mainstream project.  The aim of the pilot project was to bring long term empty properties back into use to provide settled accommodation for homeless households.  The pilot was successful in facilitating the re-use of 25 long term empty properties with another 20 being in the process of sale of refurbishment, well above the target set of bringing six properties back into use.  This provided evidence of positive outcomes and an incentive to kick start this area of work.

The council produced their first Empty Homes Strategy in 2008 covering the period 2008-2011, which set out the housing issues across the city and the action required to bring properties back into use.  This included an action plan to drive delivery of the strategy.

The empty homes officer continued to tackle empty property issues, dealing with complaints and working with owners on problematic properties that had been empty for over three years.   Approximately 25 properties were brought back into use each year from 2008, mainly through successful negotiation with the owners.  Enforcement routes were also explored and utilised through compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) and the authority to complete an enforced sale if required.  

Project

The main priority was to strengthen the capacity of the empty homes team to deliver the empty homes strategy by reducing the number of empty properties within the city and the number of people on the housing register waiting list.  Due to the reducing void figure for social housing and a lack of new build properties the council recognised that it was also a prime time to open up a dialogue with owners to find new and innovative methods to bring properties back into use.

Two empty homes officers were appointed in February 2010 with funding provided from within the council’s budget as part of the Empty Homes Strategy.  A further empty homes officer was employed for two years from May 2010 and was funded through CLG funds (£84,000) as part of the empty homes capacity building programme.   The officer appointed in 2006 now heads up the dedicated empty homes team, which sits within Housing Standards. 

The work of the team is divided into three distinct areas:

• Reactive – operational (2 officers)
• Proactive – projects (1 officer)
• Enforcement and strategic development  (1 senior officer)

The officers working on the operational side of the business respond to requests from the community and will work on an empty property case for up to six months to try and find a solution with the owner.  If after this time there is no solution, the case is referred to the senior officer, final options are explored and enforcement routes are initiated (CPO and enforced sale) if appropriate.

Innovative methods for bringing properties back into use have been explored by the officer working on the proactive side of the business and six projects were identified split into two phases:

1^st Phase

• Youthbuild – an apprenticeships programme for young people to build their skills and capacity in construction skills.  A Registered Provider will buy long term empty properties and will provide construction skills for young people in order for them to bring derelict properties back into use. 
• Housing options for people with learning disabilities – there are currently 70 people in the city with learning disabilities living in unsuitable accommodation and this project aims to identify empty properties that are more suitable to individual needs.  The team will work with Adult Social Care to offer owners an agreement to lease their properties to people with learning disabilities on a five year term.

2^nd Phase

• Group Homes –identifying empty properties that are suitable for small group homes for Children and Young People’s Services.
• Homesteading –funding option support for first time buyers i.e. a bank will buy an empty property and the tenant will pay the bank a rental income over five years.  The tenant will make improvements to the property and at the end of the contract they have the option to purchase the property at the original price paid by the bank.
• Private sector leasing scheme/local lettings agency –housing options for people on the housing register that can’t access private properties due to up front rent requirements.  The owner would hand over the empty property to the council or housing association for five years, who in turn would find a tenant to occupy it, ensure it is maintained and provide rental income back to the owner.  Approximately £20,000 of the CLG funding (£84,000) will be used for this scheme.
• Refurbishment to let scheme - funding support for owners who cannot afford the cost of repairs to bring their properties back into use.  The properties could then be let out through a registered provider or shared ownership could be considered

The empty homes officer is contacting owners with empty properties between 1 year and 18 months to inform them of the projects and identify if they would like to be involved.  Scoping work is complete on the 1^st phase projects and delivery is now underway.  Work will commence on the 2^nd phase projects in early summer 2011 when the scoping and options appraisal stage has been concluded. 

The team have a strong records system in place to monitor empty properties through the flare database, which provides a case file and tracker system, with time limits set at each stage.  Monthly and quarterly performance reports are provided to the head of service and chief executive which evidence the numbers of properties brought back into use and the methods used. 

The targets set for bringing empty properties back into use are 100 per year from 2010/11.

The empty homes agenda is a high priority for the council and forms a key outcome in the Corporate Plan.  The overall delivery of the programme is driven through the Empty Homes Strategy 2008-11.  The implementation and review of the strategy is co-ordinated through the groups which meet for the development and implementation of various tools, involving representatives from the council’s Housing Division, Neighbourhood Services Division, Renew North Staffordshire, local housing associations, Legal Services and Council Tax.  The strategy will be refreshed in April 2011 and it is likely that it will form part of a wider housing strategy including supporting people and homelessness. 

Impact

95 properties have already been brought back into use since April 2010, through the operational work and the target is on course to be achieved. This already proves the successes of strengthening the capacity of the team as prior to this around 25 properties were being brought back into use per year by one member of staff.

Three of these properties have been brought back into use through the CPO route, which has already recovered £16,000 of debt back into the council funds. One of these properties has been empty for 14 years and has been Compulsorily Purchased as a direct result of requests from the community calling for the Council to take action. The property has been the subject of vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The property is currently being marketed for sale at auction by the council and there has been a high number of people who have shown an interest in this property. Neighbours are relieved that the council has taken this action as it is clear that without the council’s intervention, the property would have been left to deteriorate even further.

As part of the Youthbuild project there will be three affordable housing units, ten young people are receiving training and two of these people will obtain permanent employment at the end of the training.

Strengthening the capacity of the team and dividing the workload into three distinct areas has provided a stronger focus and direction for the empty homes programme, which is maximising service delivery. Staff, partners and stakeholders have a clearer understanding of their responsibilities and are working together effectively:

• The empty homes team have enhanced their knowledge through opportunities to think creatively and offer new and innovative ideas to bring properties back into use. New methods are carefully researched and solutions are brokered collaboratively. Individual team members have increased their understanding of council systems and processes.
• Internal partnerships across the authority are strong and include the team working with council tax officers on data analysis and enforced sales, local neighbourhood enforcement officers on fly tipping, environmental health officers on nuisance complaints and specialist services on dangerous structures. The team have developed a more joined up approach with the planning team on Section 215 notices, which has increased internal capacity and removed duplication. The empty homes officers now take responsibility for referring the property and the planning team serve the notices.
•  The team have built strong relations with external partners who can help with providing solutions to empty properties. These include registered providers, police, fire service, valuation office, letting agents, private landlords through the North Staffordshire Landlords Accreditation Scheme and tracing agents. More specifically:
  • A ‘matching service’ has been developed with 80 landlords on the accreditation scheme, who wish to buy long term empty properties. Owners are then matched with buyers through the scheme using grants, with little or no intervention required by the council. The service offers owners ‘peace of mind’ that their property will be brought back into use through a reliable source.
  • The team have successfully influenced a change in the way their local valuation office interprets the legislation regarding empty properties removed from the council tax list (practice note 4 appendix 2). The valuation office are now working closely with the council to identify properties that could still be classed as a dwelling in need of repair rather than a construction which cannot be seen as a dwelling. This in turn has led to owners who would not previously engage with the council, making contact and working more pro-actively to bring their property back into use to cover council tax costs.
  • A new partnership has been developed with Saltbox which is a Christian charity that works to house and support young ex-offenders. The team are working with the charity to bring properties back into use through a lease agreement with the owner and have already secured one property so far.
  • The senior empty homes officer chairs the West Midlands Empty Property Practitioners Group, which is a useful vehicle to share experiences, key lessons and best practice

The council are forging strong links in the community through a call centre approach. When an enquiry or complaint is made on an empty property, the call centre will co-ordinate and allocate the work to the relevant teams. This provides a much more streamlined service and it highlights to the community the proactive approach that the council are taking to tackle empty homes.

It is anticipated that the longer term benefits and impact of the individual projects will be:

• The Youthbuild project is providing young local people with new skills, which will increase confidence and help them secure jobs in the construction industry, through other employment, training or education.
• The small group homes scheme will offer young people the opportunity for a more normal upbringing in the community in a family home that is suitable for their needs.
• The learning disability project will provide people with learning disabilities with the opportunity to live independently in the community and have the chance to live in accommodation suitable to their needs that is close to their family, friends and a support network.
• Homesteading, Local Lettings Agency and the refurbish to let schemes will supply people with increased ‘hassle free’ housing options across the city.

Empty homes procedures have been developed for each of the tools, which include the following:

•  Service request procedures with service standards
•  Match funded grants
•  Matching service
•  CPOs – tracker sheet
•  Council tax enforced sales – tracker sheet
•  Section 215 partnership as a tool
   

Lessons Learned

• Investing some time to think creatively and explore new methods to bring empty properties back into use can achieve successful results and have a wider long term impact.  Scoping out all of the options and undertaking extensive research will help you decide on the most effective delivery method within the budget and timescales available. 

• Completing a stakeholder analysis when embarking on any new project helps you understand who to include and when to involve them.  Promoting the mutual benefits of the empty homes work can help to facilitate shared ownership of the project from the outset. 

• Undertaking a thorough project risk assessment at the start of each project can help you to manage your project more pro-actively and effectively.  An assessment should include clearly defined measures and contingencies to mitigate against risks and issues.

• Remember that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ and taking time to learn from the past by reviewing key lessons from previous projects can help when deciding on the most effective option. 

• Structuring the empty homes workload into distinct areas(enforcement, operational and pro-active), builds the capacity of the team and provides a clearer focus for the overall programme ensuring a more effective service. 

Reference

Zainul Pirmohamed

Senior Empty Homes Officer

Housing Standards Team

Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Civic Centre, Glebe Street, ST4  1HH

www.stoke.gov.uk

zainul.pirmohamed@stoke.gov.uk