A property investor has warned that Labour’s crackdown on empty homes will fail without proper funding, as cash-strapped councils can’t afford the repairs properties need.
Councils will get stronger powers to take control of empty and derelict homes under plans announced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, at Labour’s annual conference last month.
The reforms to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) would let authorities step in once a property has been empty for six months, down from the current two years.
Councils could then manage the home and rent it out to people in need of housing.
But Elliot Castle, chief executive of We Buy Any Home, says the scheme may fail.
“If you look at the 300,000 empty homes, I absolutely agree we need to get these back into use for people that need them. But of those 300,000 homes, we estimate over 150,000 are uninhabitable and require substantial work to bring them back into a habitable condition.
“So ask yourself this question: who’s going to pay for that? Is the local authority going to pay for that?”
Castle points to the financial pressures councils are already under.
“The last time I checked, we have local authorities with no money. They can’t even afford to keep up their own infrastructure, their own roads. They can’t afford to do basic services.
“How is this government, and all of the local authorities, going to afford to bring these properties back into use? My verdict is that this is a PR stunt that suits the Labour government and Angela Rayner.”
He accepts there is a strong case for putting pressure on owners of empty properties, especially with the scale of homelessness in the country.
“You have 300,000 empty homes in a country that has a huge housing problem. Lots of homeless people, queues, waiting lists for pretty much every local authority in the country.
“I don’t see why there shouldn’t be more pressure on landlords and homeowners to bring these empty homes back into use.
“There are particular circumstances where I don’t think it’s right that the council should be able to take ownership, probate being one of them.”
Families dealing with bereavement often wait months for an estate to be settled, and Castle believes this should make them exempt from council pressures.
Instead of taking full control, Elliot believes financial support should be offered to property owners to ensure the empty homes are habitable.
He adds: “Why does the government not consider some form of grant for these homes that need to be brought back in? I think that might be more of a practical way to deal with this problem.”
