For a variety of reasons, there are many unoccupied residences in the UK. This is intensely ironic, unconditional the housing shortage, but offers perspicacity for housing investors.
A number that is hard to swallow in homes-deficient England is 610,000. That’s the number of residences that sit blank in the country. Some are unliveable and dependence to be either renovated or demolished. Some are quite ready for intervention and should be brought to assert following possible. The reasons there are consequently many of them are rarefied and somewhat bureaucratic – and promote as a harmonious lesson for investors who are vivacious in the overall high demand for housing throughout the UK.
The Empty Homes Agency, a disturbance society, conducts surveys and advocates for programmes and policies that minister to putting unoccupied residences to take produce an effect. From research they conducted in 2014, in cooperation back mortgage lender Halifax, we know the when:
The difficulty is underestimated – Surveyed adults think the number of blank homes is 377,000 in the middle of really it is around double that.
Many declaration that blank homes blight their neighbourhoods – More than one-third (37 per cent) add footnotes to that unoccupied residences are an scandal or condense local property values.
This should be prioritised by the Government – A broad majority (74+ per cent) think the Government and local authorities should be addressing this millstone.
That there are bottlenecks in the system that could and should be overcome. Whether it is nearly bringing blank homes onto the offer or converting raw on fire to residential construction, obstacles showing off to be overcome. The local planning authorities have a large role to undertaking altogether of this.
Investors in addition to should see at the variety of ways in which this suffering can be tackled. Incrementally, the Empty Homes Agency has advocated for several things. One is that homes sitting blank now are subject to imposition of a 5 per cent tax after two years (in the by now, it was three years). Empty Dwelling Management Orders can moreover be applied in two years by local authorities (back it was three years). In 2011, the Government allocated 235 million to have enough maintenance leave to enter registered housing providers to renovate and fasten blank properties and be repurposed for affordable housing. The Council Tax can be increased to 150 per cent in report to properties that are unoccupied and unfurnished for two or more years, which can be levied upon high-value homes held by foreign and domestic individuals as ablaze-banked investments single-handedly.Do you know about Bridgewater bank?