Bringing empty properties back into use

Herefordshire Council is committed to tackling the challenge of empty properties in the County.  The return of empty properties back into use is an essential part of the overall Housing Strategy to meet the accommodation needs of the people of Herefordshire.

The Council can provide advice and in some instances financial assistance to help bring an empty property back into use.  The Council also has an enforcement role in extreme cases where properties are left unoccupied for a prolonged time and in a poor state of repair, and where owners are unwilling to deal with them.

Owners can benefit from bringing their empty property back into use.  Some of these benefits include:

• rental income
• increased sales potential
• security against vandalism
• loss of liability for Council Tax
• security against squatters.

Once a property has been registered as empty for over 6 months the Council contacts the owners to request that they complete a questionnaire relating to their empty property to establish whether the Council can assist in any way to help bring the property back into use.

Please use the menu on the left for further details of available assistance and for contact details.