April

2006
THE EMPTY HOMES AGENCY
Monthly News Bulletin

Empty Homes Agency, 195 – 197 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5NE
Tel: 020 7828 6288 Email: shashi@emptyhomes.com
Statements in this newsletter are for guidance only and the Empty Homes Agency will not accept
liability for losses resulting from reliance on them. Professional advice should always be obtained.
Table of Contents

1 A Word….
2 Wanted! - Absentee Owner Of Empty Home
3 Freedom of Information - not an apology but an explanation
4 More advice on Freedom of Information
5 Facing the future, challenging the past – Mark Grant -
Broadway
6 Events
7 Resources
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1
A Word…
Jonathan Ellis, Chief Executive
Dear All,

For the past few years now I’ve had the pleasure each month of sitting
down and writing a piece for this bulletin on current issues around our
campaign on bringing empty homes back into use. Some months, if I’m
honest, it’s easier to write this piece than others, but the thought that’s
always at the back of my mind is… does anybody read this article? And
the last two pieces that I have written have generated a response, so
I’m beginning to think that maybe people do read these pieces!

The piece about local area agreements generated some excellent

discussion and pointers to where local authorities are using local area
agreements as a way of encouraging additional activity on empty
homes. This was an issue that I picked up on a recent trip to Oldham,
and it is great to see that LAAs are being used as a catalyst for bringing
property back in to use.

I also wrote a while ago of the importance of getting other players

involved, not just local authorities in bringing empty property back into
use. I did receive some feedback that this line of argument was seen to
be somewhat disparaging towards local authorities.

Since its inception in1992, the Empty Homes Agency has been very
keen to work with local authorities as being the key local champions to
bring empty property back into use. Indeed in our early days the
campaigning zeal of Bob Lawrence was a critical factor in encouraging
local authorities to adopt an empty property strategy and for the first
time to have an approach to bringing property back into use to meet
housing need.

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What was true in 1992 remains totally true today in 2006, whilst the
Government explicitly accepts that empty property can make a
contribution to meeting new housing supply, the challenge for us now at
a local level is to deliver on more property being brought back into use,
and local authorities with their strategic role in the local housing market
clearly have a vital role to play.

All of the above is true, and never has been truer that local authorities
have a critical element in co-ordinating work on empty property. What I
think we’ve been trying to say in the last few months is that we can’t put
all our eggs in the local authority basket. Local authorities can be a key
driver but really we need to get more and more players involved and
more and more interest in the potential of empty property.

Last year we endeavoured to do that working with RSLS with a project

funded by the Housing Corporation to encourage more RSLs to see the
potential of getting involved in such schemes as Private Sector Leasing.

Our involvement with the BBC series was an attempt to try and
generate more public interest so that members of the public could see a
potential role for them to get involved in bringing property back in to use,
and we’re currently talking to English Partnerships about the potential of
getting developers also expressing more interest in the contribution they
could play to bringing empty property back into use.

None of this diminishes the co-ordinating and driving role of local

authorities. Yet hopefully we are all pragmatic to see that local authorities
can’t do it all themselves and the critical thing for the Agency is to bring as
many interested players into this arena so that we maximise the chances of
bringing property back into use.

As I’m now increasingly confident that people are actually reading this
piece, I would be delighted to hear from people if you have forged new
relationships with different partners to bring empty property back into
use. And we would be delighted to champion such creative working in
the bulletin.

With all best wishes.

Jonathan Ellis
Chief Executive
Empty Homes Agency
Tel: 020 7963 6883

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Email: jonathan.ellis@emptyhomes.com

Wanted! - Absentee
Owner Of Empty
Home
With Government strategy being so
focused on maximising available housing
assets in the country it has been with
great interest that we have discovered
the services of a new and exciting
company Grafton.
Grafton are a firm of experienced genealogists who have been working
closely for the last couple of years with some London Boroughs to find
absentee owners for empty private sector housing.

Here are three London based examples of cases conducted by Grafton

successfully in the last twelve months:

Elder Avenue N8: This property was derelict for over 4 years, 2 of
which the council had spent unsuccessfully attempting to trace the next
of kin for. The property details were passed by the council to The
Treasury Solicitor who were also unable to locate the owners. In the
meantime the property became subject to rodent infestation and dry rot
causing a nuisance to neighbouring properties.

Grafton traced all 25 qualifying beneficiaries and completed the

necessary legal administration, which meant the property was promptly
sold and renovated in a very short time. This enabled the council to

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remove their liability, was of benefit to the beneficiaries and of course

the neighbouring rate-payers.

Home Park Road SW19: This property was in a severe state of

dilapidation and vacant for over 6 years. On investigation the council
found that a 100-year lease had expired some 10 years previously with
both leaseholders and freeholders having died leaving a very
complicated legal limbo.

Grafton conducted extensive genealogical research over a 100-year

period and traced living relatives of the freeholder. They also collated
the necessary legal paperwork to satisfy the courts and successfully sell
the property, which has been renovated and is fully occupied.

Aislibie Road SE14: The owner of this property had died some 10
years previously and left the property vacant. On investigation the
owner was found to be a multiple freeholder locally. Unfortunately due
to the families administrative errors this property was not handled in
Probate and the council was unable to trace the next of kin.

Grafton were able through genealogical research to construct a family

tree and find the next of kin. Their research was accepted legally as
proof of ownership and the property was successfully sold and is now
occupied.

The refreshing situation with Grafton is that they do not charge the local
authorities for this superb service, as their interests lie with the
beneficiaries. The beneficiaries pay Grafton a small fee for putting them
in touch with their otherwise unknown inheritance.

Nick Long at Lambeth has expressed his willingness to talk to any

individual officers about his very successful relationship with Grafton.

For further details please contact:

Grafton
102 Hill House
210 Upper Richmond Road
London SW15 6NP
www.graftonprobate.com
Email: rob@graftonprobate.com
Tel: 020 8875 1230

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Fax: 020 8877 9217

Empty Homes Blog

With the housing act powers just days away, we thought it would be
useful to have another outlet for information and opinion on empty
homes issues. Our new blog “Unlocking the Potential of Empty Homes”
http://unlockingthepotential.blogspot.com/ has been live for a few weeks
now. Most days I have been posting new items, which I hope you will
find useful and interesting. Some you may agree with and some I
suspect you won’t. The difference with a blog is that if you think we have
missed something, got it wrong or you have something to add to the
debate you can respond straight away. Click on “comments” under
each post and you can say what you want (you can even remain
anonymous).

Freedom of Information - not an apology but an

explanation

I seem to have upset a few people with my item in last months bulletin
about freedom of information requests. You may remember that I set
out a series of responses that local authorities had given to freedom of
information requests. Those who objected thought that I was making
light of the issue and was taking an anti-local authority position. I am
sorry if I have caused offence but I’m afraid I can’t apologise for the
piece, it was straight reporting of what local authorities had said. If you
thought some of the reasons used by local authorities appeared comical
I’d agree with you. But they were their words not mine.

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The Empty Homes Agency strongly values its ties with empty property
officers. And we think that local government is a force for good in
returning empty properties to use. We spend a lot of our time
supporting and encouraging local authorities. When we think they get it
right we say so. However as a critical friend we should reserve the
right to say when we think they get it wrong. On this issue I think local
government has, on the whole, got it wrong.

I have been writing and speaking on this issue for more than a year.
On our website you will see a number of more sober articles, most of
which I think are understanding of the multiple pressures that local
government officers are under.

In addition to local government we have many other audiences. An

increasingly important one is private developers and individuals looking
to create homes out of empty property. I have to say that many people
from this group are angry and frustrated by the approach that most
local authorities have taken on this issue. On many occasions we are
able to defuse problems by explaining the issues to this group. On
other occasions I share their frustrations.

I know there are risks by giving out information, but my view is that the
risks are outweighed by the potential benefits. All the time at the back
of mind is the question “what is most likely to bring empty properties
back into use?” Sometimes the answer is uncomfortable to local
authorities, but that doesn’t mean to say it’s wrong.

If you have something to say or want to respond to the issues raised

here please log on to our blog http://unlockingthepotential.blogspot.com/

For further details please contact:

David Ireland
Empty Homes Agency
195-197 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5NE
T: 020 7963 6884
E: david.Ireland@emptyhomes.com

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4
More advice on Freedom
of Information

Please let me know if I’ve got this wrong, but it sounds as if the big
reason why local authorities are reluctant to give out information on
empty properties is liability.

In the back local authorities minds when considering requests is the

worry that if you give out a list of addresses of empty properties the
information might fall into the hands of somebody who misuses it?
Possible scenarios might include a property from the list being
vandalised, having architectural features stolen or being squatted. II f
any of these were to happen the owner of the property might claim that
problems arose because the council made the whereabouts and
occupation of the property known to the perpetrators. Potentially this
might open up civil claims against the local authority.

I have taken advice and views on this issue from several experts
including solicitors and Freedom of information officers. The following is
a summary of their views

In order for a claim against a local authority to be successful, the

claimant would need to prove a causal link between the information
being disclosed and the consequent outcome. The claimant would also
need to prove that the local authority was either negligent or wilfully
connived in the outcome.

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Common sense suggests that theft and vandalism are often

opportunistic crimes and it is perhaps a little hard to imagine a vandal
requesting a list of properties from a local authority before going out to
vandalise them. Squatting is a more tangible risk. But even if this were
to happen the causal link and negligence tests are quite hard for a
claimant to prove. Empty properties get vandalised and squatted all the
time without any assistance from the local authority.

A sensible precaution would be to minimise the risks by applying some

checks and balances when giving out information. These might include:

• Not proactively publishing the list e.g. on an open part of the

website

• Requiring contact information from those requesting the

information prior to making it available.

• Issuing the information only to those who agree to conditions of

use. These might include:
They agree to keep the information purely for their own use and
not pass it on to others.
They agree to only use the information for specific purposes e.g.
negotiating a sale with the owner.

Of course, even if a local authority were to apply all of these checks and
balances you could not be 100% sure that a claim would not be made
against you. Indeed it would not preclude the possibility of a claim being
successful. But it does appear as if the risk would be very small. My
view is that the potential benefits would outweigh the risk. But as
somebody pointed out to me last month that’s easy for me to say
because it isn’t my risk.

If you have something to say or want to respond to the issues raised

here please log on to our blog http://unlockingthepotential.blogspot.com/

For further details please contact:

David Ireland
Empty Homes Agency
195-197 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5NE

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T: 020 7963 6884
E: david.Ireland@emptyhomes.com

Facing the future,

challenging the past
Challenging perceptions and opening
up a new route to housing London’s
homeless
Broadway was created over 25 years ago to provide move-on to individuals
accommodated in hostels in central London, a relatively simple task than given
we had a steady stream of accommodation to move people in those heady
days of the 80’s and early 90’s.

How times have changed. Today the silting up of housing in London is the
biggest challenge in preventing and alleviating homelessness we as a sector

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have had to face. Recent research by the GLA and Homeless Link estimate
over 40% of people in Hostels are ready to move-on and have minimal support
needs. But they have nowhere to go. It is a costly and inappropriate use of
public funds to house people in supported housing when they do not require
on-going support.

In the past agencies such as ourselves have bemoaned the lack of move on
and have shouted the mantra “more social housing”. However increasingly at
Broadway we have come to the realisation that this is a pipe dream. Even with
this Governments renewed commitment to new house building, there simply is
never going to be enough social housing to go around for the foreseeable
future. Therefore rather than continue with our ‘mantras’ and waiting for
something to happen, Broadway has decided that we need to come up with
alternative solutions. The most obvious one is the use of the private rented
sector (PRS).

Traditionally homeless agencies have steered clear of the PRS and many
have viewed it as one of the main causes of homelessness. The view has
been of dodgy and landlords ready to evict clients at a drop of a hat, often
illegally, and poor quality accommodation with little or no security. In turn many
landlords have also steered clear of us, seeing homeless people as being
potentially poor tenants. However, increasingly these preconceptions are
being challenged. This is especially so in light of the positive work done by
Local Authorities in their use of the PRS as an alternative to B&B. There is
also a growing realisation from a range of funders and local authorities, that
there needs to be a change of attitude and a renewed effort to see how the
PRS can be unlocked for single homeless people. Broadway’s view is that a
large number of homeless people have previously been disqualified from the
private rented sector, because of financial exclusion, lack of resettlement
support or tenancy skills training. However with the necessary support many
could manage perfectly well in private rented accommodation. Indeed for
some people with minimal support needs this would be a positive alternative to
being sucked into the ‘machine’ of homelessness agencies and services. The
challenge for us is to find good quality properties with fair landlords, prepared
to let affordable at rents.

I can hear many of you chuckling as I write this, thinking we are living in cloud
cuckoo land and these landlord and properties simply don’t exist (or that we
are heading for financial ruin as a Charity). However this initiative is not as far
fetched as it sounds. Increasingly we are becoming aware of small local
schemes that are finding these landlords and properties. As we have been
speaking to Local Authorities and the Empty Homes Agency, we have become
convinced that there are landlords out there who are struggling to manage
their properties. With a little bit of carrot (grants), and a touch of stick when
necessary (compulsory leases), we can find what we are looking for.
Increasing LAs empty property teams are turning down empty properties
because they already have enough stock for families, or the properties are
unsuitable. We have therefore linked up with the Empty Homes Agency to

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develop a scheme that with hopefully be able to put to use these vacant
properties for single homeless people

Our ultimate aim is to create a sustainable social enterprise that will act as a
managing agent, matching landlords with empty properties and linking them to
local authority grants to improve properties to make them fit for use. Broadway
already runs the Clearing House scheme for former rough sleepers and
through it manages lettings to 4,000 properties owned by RSLs. We also run
a pre tenancy training project called It’s Your Move. We are currently running
a scheme to provide independent living skills training for a number of local
authority tenants, including Lambeth Council. Our aim is to use this experience
and knowledge in providing such schemes and to adapt them for use with the
private sector. In this way we will be overcoming some of the potential barriers
for both tenants and landlords that are very real.

It is not intended that we duplicate existing schemes, but rather act as a

brokerage service matching clients, being offered move-on through rent
deposits and other schemes, to potential landlords. By using the skills and
knowledge of the Empty Homes Agency we aim to provide sufficient coverage
and numbers of properties to provide choice, flexibility and availability to allow
other schemes to work effectively. And allied to this we aim to make those
choices as affordable for clients as possible.

We have already started running such a scheme in West London in

partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham which it aims to provide move on
for 130 clients a year from local hostels. The London Housing Foundation is
also very committed to the unlocking the private sector and we are hopeful of
their further support to develop the scheme across London. We have already
identified properties and have just started to move people into them. We have
no illusions that at times it may be a bumpy ride with a steep leaning curve
along the way – for all of us. However Broadway is convinced that the private
sector can be made to work for single homeless people. Trying to create
some choice for move on must be better than accepting there is no choice –
and just repeating the same old mantras!

For further details please contact:

Mark Grant
Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Services
Broadway
Street to Home
Tel: 020 7089 9532
Fax: 020 7089 9501
E-mail: mark.grant@broadwaylondon.org

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Events
“From rough sleeping to affordable homes for all: what should churches be
doing?”

For more details please click on the link below:

http://www.emptyhomes.com/publicrelations/events.htm

London Week Of Action – Dates: 5th – 9th June 2006

For more information click on the link below:

http://www.emptyhomes.com/publicrelations/lwoa.htm

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National Week Of Action - Dates: 23rd – 27th October 2006

For more information click on the link below:

http://www.emptyhomes.com/publicrelations/nwoa.htm

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
For more info please look at our website:
http://www.emptyhomes.com/eventspages/events.htm

Resources
To help you bring those empties back into use,
here are some links to some helpful resources:

Jobs:

Empty Property Enforcement Officer, (North London sub-region)

£32,961 - £35,592 ,two-year fixed-term contract or possible secondment

For more details please click here

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