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New Grants to Restore Empty Properties

There are so many empty properties around the country. Some councils in the north are offering resident home buyers property for £1 on the condition that they live in it for five years. Other councils have taken different steps in offering grants for buyers to restore empty properties. The London council of Barnet, just 5 miles from Middlesex University, is one such council.

 

The Epidemic of Empty Properties

Freeing up available but presently unliveable properties is just one of the solutions that local authorities are applying to ease the spiralling mortgage and rental costs. It has been identified as one of the main problems and issues keeping properties prices high: properties in undesirable areas or those too expensive and in need of too much work. Whole streets in inner city locations in the north are completely empty while in the south, older properties in desperate need of renovation are being passed over by families and by investors as too much effort.

That’s why Barnet Council has introduced a system of Empty Property Grants.

  • Individuals looking to invest in properties within the Borough may get up to £15,300 for one-bedroom properties
  • Grants of up to £20,400 are available for two bedrooms
  • £25,500 is the figure available for properties with three or more bedrooms

 

Residents in Care

 In a bid to dissuade investors and speculators, these grants are available on condition that the purchaser rents out the properties. But what about owners in care who might want to rent out a property to which they are unlikely to return?

But Barnet Borough Council has not stopped there. Many properties are empty because the owner-occupier is in a care home or otherwise receiving long-term care elsewhere. It is often unaffordable to convert such properties to rent out as HMOs or simply make changes to rent them out to families. Finally, people who have vacated homes who cannot afford necessary homes are still empty. Therefore, the council has also made available a system of grants for both of these groups too.

 

Room for More Empty Property Grants?

In 2014, it was estimated that the number of empty properties in the UK was around the 635,000 mark. Around 1/3 of these have been empty for at least six months (the normal period in which we might expect a new set of tenants to succeed the last set). The recent Empty Property Grant announcement from Barnet Borough Council is nothing new. In 2010, central government offered funding for Empty Home Grants which was withdrawn in 2016. With this new measure from Barnet, it is likely that other councils will follow suit if it is successful in dealing with their own empty stock.

The nearest university to Barnet is Middlesex with easy connections elsewhere across London.