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RCT Council proposals to help reduce the number of long-term empty properties are progressed

RCT Council proposals to help reduce the number of long-term empty properties are progressed

Following a public consultation, Cabinet has progressed proposals to increase the level of council tax premium that is applied to owners of properties that have remained empty for more than a year – for the benefit of communities.

Members also agreed that the Council should make future use of extra intervention powers in specific instances where there is no realistic prospect of an owner taking action to bring their empty property back into use. Cabinet will now recommend to Full Council that the proposals are adopted.

On Thursday, September 19, Cabinet considered the feedback received in a recent public consultation which ran from July 29 to September 8, 2024. The exercise focused on specific proposals that have been brought forward as part of a wider strategy to reduce the number of long-term empty properties.

Reducing empty properties in Rhondda Cynon Taf would increase the supply of affordable housing, enhance the sustainability of local communities, and improve the properties’ appearances – removing the risk of them attracting anti-social behaviour.

In April 2023, the Council introduced a premium of 50% for long-term empty properties that have been empty for between one and two years, and 100% for properties empty for more than two years – while also introducing a 100% premium for second homes. The new proposals are seeking to introduce even greater measures, by introducing the following premiums from April 1, 2025:

Increasing the council tax premium to 100% for properties empty for between one and three years (a total council tax level of 200%).

Increasing the council tax premium to 200% for properties empty for more than three years (a total council tax level of 300%).

The proposals would maintain existing exceptions from council tax premiums – where properties are reasonably marketed for let or sale (for a maximum period of one year), or where a property is exempt from council tax (properties undergoing repair or structural alterations, unoccupied houses that are owned by a charity, or where a property owner has recently passed away).

Thursday’s Cabinet report provided detail on the feedback from the consultation – the process included officers sending a letter/email to more than 3,000 empty property owners, and providing an online questionnaire. Overall, 157 responses were received.

Officers noted that the feedback varied between respondents who identified as empty property owners, compared to those who described themselves as ‘residents’ (members of the general public). In total, 53% of respondents were empty property owners, and 57% of responses disagreed with the proposed new level of council tax premium. However, 66.2% of respondents identifying themselves as ‘residents’ agreed with the proposals.

The proposals also included the Council’s use of extra intervention powers in cases where there is no realistic prospect of an owner taking action to bring their empty property back into use. For example, this could be through the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order, where the Council would take control of a property and work with the local housing sector to bring it back into use.

In total, 59.8% of all consultation respondents agreed with this element, rising to 76.9% for those respondents who identified themselves as ‘residents’.

Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Prosperity, said: “The Council is committed to doing all it can to bring long-term empty properties back into use – and officers reported to Cabinet in July that we have been successful in returning 922 former empty properties since 2017. While this represents very good progress so far, the number of empty properties in the County Borough still remains high.

“The progress made to date has been achieved largely through the interventions in our RCT Empty Homes Strategy – one of these actions has been the introduction of council tax premiums for property owners, to encourage them to take action that will bring their property back into use. These powers have been available to Welsh councils since 2017 and were increased in 2023 – when our current council tax premiums, ranging from 50% to 100%, were introduced.

“To tackle the more than 1,500 long-term empty properties that still remain, officers have brought forward even more stringent proposals that would come into effect from April 2025. These would effectively double the standard council tax level for properties that have been empty for between one and three years, and treble it for those remaining empty for more than three years.

“While the overall consultation feedback saw a mix of responses, it is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of those who disagreed with the proposals identified themselves as empty property owners – and would therefore be directly impacted by the proposed council tax premiums. The majority of respondents identifying themselves as members of the general public were in favour of the proposals.

“Cabinet has taken a wide range of factors into consideration as part of making its decision on the matter – including the importance of supporting local housing need, and preventing a blight within our communities. Members agreed to progress the proposals, including making use of extra intervention powers in cases where there is no realistic hope of a property being brought back into use. This decision will now be recommended to elected members when they consider the matter at a future meeting of Full Council.”

As well as its Empty Homes Strategy, the Council has also demonstrated its commitment to reducing empty properties at a regional level in recent years, by leading on the Valleys Taskforce Empty Homes Grant Scheme. Wider action has included supporting the Houses into Homes and the Homestep Plus schemes, hosting the RCT Landlord Forum, and working with Registered Social Landlords to bring unused town centre commercial space into use.

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