Website and telephone payments Sunday 19 May
Our website and telephone payment systems are unavailable between 9am and 2pm on Sunday 19 May. You will not be able to pay for any council services on our website or over the phone during this time.
When properties lie empty, they can cause problems. Find out how to deal with them, how to report one and what we are doing to help owners.
There are just under 800 homes that have been empty for longer than six months in the area.
These empty homes represent a significant waste of valuable housing accommodation. This is especially pressing at a time of both affordable housing shortages and low rates of new housing completion.
Vacant properties can often have a seriously bad effect on the condition and value of adjoining properties and on the local community. Usually, the longer they remain empty, the greater their disrepair and risk of vandalism.
An empty property can also cost the owner a significant amount of money due to the following:
It is estimated that leaving a home empty can cost about £7,000 per year, just in terms of insurance, maintenance, council tax and the loss of potential income.
There are a number of ways you can bring your empty home back into use and a number of ways we can help you.
We are also able to offer a wide range of general advice for owners to help you bring your empty home back into use, including:
Although we have various statutory powers to deal with empty homes, we are keen to encourage owners to re-let or re-occupy them without the worry of enforcement action. However, in certain circumstances we may have to use enforcement action to ensure that empty homes are brought back into use.
For more information about bringing empty homes back into use, or if you wish to report an empty home, please contact us.