Calderdale grapples with a high number of vacant properties amid housing shortages, prompting council action and support initiatives.
They increase council tax on empty homes. The council highlights support for owners this week. This support helps them bring homes back faster. The council wants fewer long-term empty homes. Some empty homes exist normally.
Owners must maintain their properties. The council offers support anyway. They advise on renovation projects and give selling and renting information. They also suggest work needed on empty houses and inform about community solutions. Short-term finance options also exist.
The council solves problems causing empty homes. They partner with Fraser & Fraser, a genealogy firm. This firm helped reuse one Shelf house. The house was decaying, and people wanted to buy it.
Fraser & Fraser found the owner’s family and got probate so it got sold. It was renovated and reused. Womencentre Homes aids the council. This Halifax charity houses women escaping abuse.
They bought three empty houses and renovated them for use. They plan to buy three more houses. The council helps find owners for them.
Empty homes bother neighbors and attract problems like vandalism. Also, they waste housing. The council can use Compulsory Purchase Orders. This forces owners to sell very decayed, long-term empty homes. The council then fixes and reoccupies them.
A council member, Scott Patient, spoke about the issue. He said empty houses concern locals. They deter long-term empty homes. The council encourages owners to reuse them and offer new owners help to fix them up.
The council reduces empty houses well. They willingly advise homeowners needing some guidance.