Bringing empty homes back into use - approaches and interventions: evidence scoping review

3. Challenges identified within the empty homes literature

A review of the literature identified two main areas of challenges within the work of bringing empty homes back in to use: data quality in the identification and classification of empty homes, and challenges the application of interventions.

3.1 Data quality in the identification and classification of empty homes

There are well documented challenges to accurately assessing the number and status of empty homes. LA Council Tax data is the main underlying data source on empty homes in Scotland. Figures from the National Records of Scotland and Scottish Government annual data are both derived from this data. However, figures drawn from Council Tax data can be less reliable. In part, this is because data quality is contingent on owners self-reporting their empty home, and the abilities of the LA to identify non-self-reported empty homes by other means (Dunning and Moore 2020). In areas where a Council Tax premium is applied to empty homes, there may be a risk that owners will attempt to avoid the increased tax by failing to report their empty home. Whereas, in areas which still apply an empty homes tax discount, there may be a risk that owners fail to report when properties are brought back in to use. An example of this could be seen in 2013 and 2014 in Scotland, where the number of properties classed as long-term empty rose, potentially in part as a result of reclassification exercises carried out by LAs. This coincided with LAs gaining discretionary power to remove the empty properties discount or set a Council Tax increase of 100% on certain properties which have been empty for one year or more (Scottish Government 2023).

Given Council Tax data is the main data source on the number of empty homes, undercounting may arise from property types which are not captured by Council Tax recording methods. In England and Wales, derelict homes are not classified as dwellings for the purposes of Council Tax which can lead to a situation where some of the most problematic long term empties, causing the greatest impact on communities, are not represented in the figures (Action on Empty Homes 2019; Wilson et al 2020). In Scotland, 'dwellings under repair' or some 'awaiting demolition' are captured by Council Tax data because they are eligible for exemptions, but derelict properties are not specifically identified in the Council Tax data and recording may vary between LAs. Empty commercial properties which could be regenerated as housing are also not captured, which may lead to missed opportunities to convert this stock as part of housing strategy and town centre regeneration, for example, in line with Scottish Government's Town Centre Action Plan. A recommendation of the National Assemby for Wales' 2019 report on empty homes was to progress the design of a method of data collection which is not reliant on the Council Tax valuation list and instead includes derelict and non-residential properties. Until new data collection methods are designed and progressed, it remains difficult to identify and quantify non-residential, derelict and other types of properties suitable for development into housing, although there are annual Scottish Government statistics available that provide information on the number of conversions of non-residential properties to housing and the number of rehabilitations completed as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey also publishes statistics on vacant and derelict land, and includes a classification category for 'Vacant Land and Buildings'. Although the survey does not include vacant buildings with no associated land component, data is available on individual sites, including their previous use which can help identify potential for development into housing. Most councils submit annual data for the survey. Councils are also encouraged to keep separate lists of vacant buildings, so whilst this information is not collated at national level, these lists may be another potential source of information worthy of exploration.

Other property types that may not be captured by Council Tax recording methods include church owned stock and properties held in possession of a mortgage lender or trustee in cases of bankruptcy.

A further limitation of current data collection arrangements is that they are only able to quantify empty homes. It is not possible to gather comprehensive information about the condition of the homes or extent of repair necessary ahead of potential re-inhabitation. This makes it difficult to forecast the financial input and interventions necessary to bring Scotland's empty homes back into use. Other methods mentioned in the literature to collect data on empty homes included using censuses, electricity consumption records (Pearson 2018), data from other types of tax records, and the postal service (Manda 2015).

Arguments have also been made in Wales for improvements to data collection categories and changes to performance measures to better represent the work being done by LAs in a way which matters to the public. Results from the National Assembly for Wales' 2019 consultation into empty homes showed respondents were concerned the most problematic empty properties, often those that are derelict or long term empty commercial or public ownership premises, are not represented in data or council performance measures yet consume disproportionate amounts of staff resource and reactive spend of public funds (Action on Empty Homes 2019).

3.2 Challenges to applying interventions: time, capacity, resource and scalability

Evidence on the approaches and interventions described in this review shared the common theme that applying them effectively and at scale was limited by available capacity and resource and the length of time it takes to carry out processes required to bring an empty home back into use.

In the literature reviewed, owners, community groups, third sector organisations, housing associations and members of the public described the often complex, unclear and lengthy processes involved. It is not always clear to people reporting how information will be acted on and this varies between councils (Mullins 2018). A report based on English research noted that every LA had a webpage with information on empty homes, including how to report them and that most LAs had staff who ran their own campaigns aimed at reducing empty homes (Albert 2021). This decentralisation within the English system was characterised as representing a barrier to easy reporting as it is largely done through individual LA services in differing ways, using multiple different websites and contact details. Since the formation of the SEHP the approach in Scotland has been different as there is a central body to approach for information and support, however the provisions and approaches adopted by individual Scottish councils do differ. Not all areas have an Empty Homes Officer (EHO) or an equivalent member of staff responsible for bringing empty homes back in to use and this may be problematic as it is those in empty homes roles who are able to provide a knowledgeable overview to support stakeholders (Scottish Government 2019). Pressures on staff capacity and budgets for capital outlays; lack of specialist knowledge; the absence of a national level legal support service; the time and resource intensive nature of empty homes work; and long timeframes involved were all cited by authors as limiting the most effective use of the interventions available (Davies 2014; Carnuccio 2014; Ceranic et al 2017; Dunning and Moore 2020; National Assembly for Wales 2019).

Specific limitations to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) which operate in England and Wales, and refurbish and lease models which are used across the UK, were described which prevent them being used at scale. EDMOs allow LAs to take control of and manage empty properties where the dwelling has been unoccupied for at least two years, all attempts to locate and/or negotiate with the owner to bring the property back into use have failed and there is a reasonable chance the dwelling could be reoccupied if an EDMO approach was taken (Carnuccio 2014). Unlike EDMOs, wider use of refurbish and lease models across the UK tends to be undertaken when it is deemed appropriate by the LA. For example, one recent project in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar aimed to purchase and refurbish 12 empty properties over the course of two years. The properties will then be made available to members of the community through social rent, mid-market rent, and rent-to-buy. Time consuming identification of and access to suitable properties; the availability of budgets for refurbishment works; and financial risk of advancing capital costs from council budgets, coupled with restrictions from mortgage lenders and owner expectations over rental income, limits scaling up to bring more empty homes back into use using these approaches (Carnuccio 2014).

The way funding often operates also limits the opportunities to use successful approaches at scale. Short term funding pots run out and funding strategies may change between governments and LA leaderships (Mullins 2018). Learning can be lost once the funding for a successful project comes to an end, or a change in approach from government alters the funding it is possible to access. Arrangements for grant and loan funding, and the eligibility criteria and timeframes involved, varies between different places (National Assembly for Wales 2019). Although tailoring interventions to local circumstances can be beneficial it can also make the changing landscape of support options complex to understand. Dedicated empty homes roles, empty homes practitioner networks and organisations such as SEHP and the UK group Self-Help Housing contribute to knowledge sharing of successful approaches. However, replicating what works at a scale which can reduce the number of empty homes significantly enough to address the problem is difficult due to these challenges raised in the literature.