Head Office: Northern Office:

The Empty Homes Agency The Empty Homes Agency

195-197 Victoria Street PO Box 3609
London Barnsley
SW1E 5NE S75 1WW
Phone: 020 7828 6288 Phone/Fax: 01226 390 093
Fax: 020 7828 7006 Mobile: 07719 798 033
Email: info@emptyhomes.com
Web: www.emptyhomes.com

OWNERS’ OPTIONS

Q. How can I put my empty home back into use?

If you own an empty home, you will know that it is an asset at risk; what should be making you
money is costing you money. Empty properties deteriorate rapidly and become targets for
vandalism and crime, are more costly to insure (if insurance is available at all) and provide no
rental income. Excluding the cost of vandalism and depreciation, keeping your property empty
could be costing you as much as £135 a week (that’s £7018 each year) *. This factsheet outlines
the options available to you to put your empty home back into use.

 If your empty home is in good condition:

 You may decide to let your property through your local council under a private sector
leasing scheme (availability of these schemes varies from area to area). You grant the
council a lease on your property for, say, five years and in return the council acts as
managing agent, which means it will find a suitable tenant, collect rent, deal with the
administrative and legal side of the tenancy, deal with queries from the tenant and arrange
for internal repairs and maintenance. As landlord you would be responsible for
external/structural repairs and maintenance and buildings insurance. Councils usually
charge one month’s rent a year for managing the tenancy, but this can vary so check with
your local council. The advantages of this option include regular, guaranteed rental income
for a fixed period, longer leases, effective management of the property, and the return of the
property to you in good condition. Terms and conditions of local authority letting schemes
vary from council to council, and you should contact the empty property officer or the
accommodation team at your local council’s homeless persons unit for further
information.

 You may decide to let your property through a housing association. This option is similar
to renting through your local council, except that the housing association would act as
managing agent instead of the council. In exchange for a lease the housing association
does all the legwork in terms of finding and dealing with tenants, collecting rent and so on,
and you as landlord would be responsible for buildings insurance and external repairs and
maintenance. Again, terms and conditions of letting schemes vary depending on the
housing association, and you should contact housing associations in your region – your local
council empty property officer can give you details of housing association schemes in your
area.

 You may wish to let your property through a private rental agency. If so, you may be
interested in The National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS). Letting agents who have
*
Source: Empty Homes Agency, ORBIS, DETR, RICS, Insurance Broker

1
 Head Office: Northern Office:
The Empty Homes Agency The Empty Homes Agency
195-197 Victoria Street PO Box 3609
London Barnsley
SW1E 5NE S75 1WW
Phone: 020 7828 6288 Phone/Fax: 01226 390 093
Fax: 020 7828 7006 Mobile: 07719 798 033
Email: info@emptyhomes.com
Web: www.emptyhomes.com

signed up to the NALS scheme must provide professional standards of service to both
landlord and tenant. NALS-approved agents will: advise you on rent levels and insurance;
find tenants and check references; collect rent and hold the money in a separate client
account; provide a monthly statement; arrange utilities safety checks and transfer bills into
the tenants’ name; arrange routine maintenance work; arrange regular inspections of the
property; and deal with all legal and administrative paperwork between tenant and landlord.
Fees vary from agency to agency. As landlord you would be responsible for insuring the
building and major repairs and maintenance.

NALS is supported by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the National
Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS) who all operate similar schemes to ensure high professional standards for lettings agents.
It is in your interests to ensure that the agent you use belongs to one of these schemes – contact
details overleaf.

 You may wish to let your property with yourself acting as landlord. If you are not sure
how to go about this, contact your local authority to see if they run a course for landlords.
You could also contact the Association of Residential Letting Agents who can provide
information on letting – contact details overleaf. Alternatively, Informed Property Systems
will provide you with a fully comprehensive ‘landlord’s pack’ for £99 – contact details overleaf.
Your local housing adviser may also be able to provide you with useful contacts.

 You could choose to sell your property to a housing association under an ‘existing
satisfactory purchase’ scheme. The advantage of selling to a housing association is that
you do not have to pay estate agents’ fees and it is normally a quick sale, with a cash
purchase and no chain. For an agreed price you transfer your ownership of the property to
the housing association, and your responsibility for the property ends there. For details of
housing associations with purchasing schemes in your area, contact your local authority
empty property officer.

 You could choose to simply sell your property on the open market. Once again, choose
an estate agent carefully using the same standards as you would for letting agents. Contact
the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) – details overleaf.

 If your empty home needs renovation before it can be

let/sold:

 Your local authority may be able to give you a grant for refurbishment costs in exchange
for a lease on the property, and the government has recently reduced the cost of
converting property (for example converting a house into flats) in some areas. Availability
of refurbishment grants varies from area to area – contact your local authority empty
property officer.

2
 Head Office: Northern Office:
The Empty Homes Agency The Empty Homes Agency
195-197 Victoria Street PO Box 3609
London Barnsley
SW1E 5NE S75 1WW
Phone: 020 7828 6288 Phone/Fax: 01226 390 093
Fax: 020 7828 7006 Mobile: 07719 798 033
Email: info@emptyhomes.com
Web: www.emptyhomes.com

 Some housing associations will pay either the full cost or a percentage of the cost of the
refurbishment work in return for a lease at a reduced rent. This is an attractive option to
owners who want to retain their property but cannot afford refurbishment costs. For details of
schemes in your area, contact your local council empty property officer.

 In addition, some housing associations will buy your dilapidated home under a purchase
and repair scheme. Once again, contact your empty property officer for details of
schemes in your area.

 You might want to consider selling your home by auction. Prospective buyers make bids
for the property on the auction day, and the successful (highest) bidder must go through with
the purchase within a specified number of days. This can be an effective way to dispose of
property which is difficult to sell and often results in a good price being achieved for
dilapidated property. Contact the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (see
below) for details of estate agents running auctions in your area.

 Remember that whatever you decide to do with your empty home, bringing it back into use
is always to your advantage. Bear in mind that, ultimately, local authorities have powers to
order the compulsory purchase of your empty home if you have been asked to bring it back
into use and have not done so. Your first point of contact should be the empty property
officer at your local authority – he/she will be able to advise you on all the options available
to owners in your area. If your local council does not have an empty property officer, let us
know and we will do our best to put you in contact with an alternative local council officer.

Usef ul Conta c t s

Organisation Address Telephone

National Approved Letting PO Box 1843, Warwick, CV34 4ZA 01926 496683
Scheme (NALS)

Association of Residential Maple House, 53-55 Woodside Road, 01494 431680

Letting Agents (ARLA) Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 6AA

National Association of Arbon House, 21 Jury Street, Warwick, CV34 01926 496800
Estate Agents (NAEA) 4EH

Royal Institution of 12 Great George Street, Parliament Square, 020 7222 7000
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) London, SW1P 3AD

Informed Property Systems 4 Cutty Cottages, North Cadbury, Yeovil, 07071 227027
Somerset, BA22 7DG