With 68,500 north London families in housing need and 8,000 privately owned empty properties across the region, Islington Council is promoting a new grant scheme designed to make more homes available to rent or buy.
The empty properties, scattered across the six London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Islington and Westminster have been lying unused for at least six months - encouraging squatters, vandalism, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour. The boroughs make up the North London Sub-Region, a partnership that is helping local people bring this privately-owned empty housing back into use for those most in need.
Cllr Terry Stacy, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Housing and Communities, Islington Council said: "London has a housing crisis with those wanting to buy priced out of the market and those wanting to rent through the council facing long waiting lists.
"But bringing empty properties back into use is one way to help meet the huge demand for housing.
"These grants offer a real chance of getting a new home whether you are an owner or a tenant."
The North London Sub-Region is offering grants of up to £25,000 to help owner-occupiers and landlords bring their empty properties back into use. Landlords will rent them to people the council nominates from its waiting list.
ITV 1 Dream Homes' Oliver Heath and Empty Homes Agency's Chief Executive David Ireland joined Cllr Stacy and Camden and Islington's Empty Homes Officers this week. They visited a property in York Way, N7, that had benefitted from a North London Sub-Region grant of £25,000 topped up by an additional Camden Council grant of nearly £25,000.
The North London Sub-Region has been allocated £3.375m by the Government Office for London to use in the six boroughs. This funds a range of tools from advice and assistance to grant aid and enforcement action. Through tackling wasted housing in this way the boroughs are helping increase the supply of good-quality and affordable accommodation that is available both to let and buy.
The sub-region has recently published its empty property strategy and action plan for the next year including auditing the location of every empty property in the borough and targetting owners with advice and if necessary, enforcement action.
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Notes to Editors:
* Owner and first-time buyer grants
Grants are available to owners in return for the property being used to house people in housing need. In addition, they are available for existing owners and first time buyers to carry out repairs so the property can be used as their primary home. The sub-region is also setting up a repair service to help owners bring their properties back into use.
* MORI Poll shows empty property landlords' reluctance
A 2006 Ipsos MORI poll shows that whilst many owners of empty properties had plans to bring their properties back into use, a significant number seemed reluctant to do this within a reasonable time scale. The sub-region is therefore supporting enforcement work in the boroughs to ensure works are carried out and that empty properties are brought back into use. As a last resort, this can include the compulsory purchase or leasing of properties.
* New improvement service for owners of empty properties
The sub-region has recently appointed an agency to provide an empty property improvement service to help empty property owners carry out necessary repairs. The owners pay a reasonable fee to the agency to have all aspects of the building work carried out for them.
Further information about the work of the sub-region, and contact details for the six boroughs, is available on the North London Empty Property website, www.nlep.co.uk, or by telephoning freephone 0800 953 6305.
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008