National Empty Homes Week 2014 - Leeds Report

Social enterprises Leeds working on empty homes in Leeds. Produced by Empties For National Empty Homes Week 1st – 5th Dec 2014 4,747 long-term empty homes in Leeds. Why is this a problem? Empty homes can cause a range of social and economic issues for the city and the people who live close to these properties. SOLD Neighbours Housing Economy Long-term empty homes can cause problems in neighbourhoods. Empty homes contribute towards the of affordable housing to buy and rent. Empty homes are a wasted resource - with missed opportunities to provide jobs and training. Why do homes become empty? Change of personal circumstances For example, people who move away from Leeds for work. Inherited homes Problems with probate, or emotional and practical issues dealing with the home. Owner moves into long - term care Families often struggle to work out what their options are. Inexperienced first-time investors Difficulties with tenants or high cost of maintenance can result in a home becoming empty. What does an empty home look like? You may expect an empty home to look like this. In fact only around 10% of the city's empty homes are "boarded up" - most look like any other house on your street. Working with Leeds City Council. The responsibility for reducing the number of empty homes in the city rests with Leeds City Council. This year they have set an ambitious target of reducing the number of empty homes by 400. The Council employs an Empty Homes Team - which concentrates on bringing back into use the most problematic empty homes in the city. The Council also works closely with local empty homes social enterprises, to increase the number of empty properties brought back into use. The Council also funds local social Leeds enterprise Leeds Empties to support owners of empty homes to bring them back into use. CITY COUNCIL Leeds What's happened to the homes Empties Leeds Empties have worked on in 2014? 158 empty home cases 73. ongoing cases 85 homes now back in use 85 homes which have had the following outcomes. 27% 11% 6% Sold through estate agents Sold through auction Acquired by social enterprises 10% 46% Owner- occupied /change of use Rented Outcomes that support the local economy. On average, each empty home brought back into use with Leeds Empties' support has generated £6,000 of work for local businesses. Estimate of New Homes Bonus payable to Leeds City Council from central government for each home back in use. £5,750 1111 Who else is working to solve the problem? 3 Social Enterprises Latch Canopy GIPSIL latch.org.uk canopyhousingproject.org gipsil.org.uk Latch works with unemployed volunteers, refurbishing empty homes in Chapeltown and Harehills to provide homes for homeless people. Canopy renovate derelict homes in inner-city Leeds to provide decent homes for people who are homeless. Through their ELEVATE project GIPSIL renovate empty homes to provide decent housing for young people in east Leeds All producing real results in 2014. Properties Total years back in use Properties undergoing renovation People housed empty LATCH 11 41 28 Canopy 19 30 GIPSIL 11 24 15 Totals 31 84 12 73 Whilst attracting significant grant funding into Leeds to purchase and renovate empty homes. Totalling £3,066,000 Since 2012 Do you know of, or own an empty home? For more information or help bringing an empty home back into use in Leeds Contact Leeds Empties www.leedsempties.org.uk 0113 2009383 O @LeedsEmpties O facebook.com/LeedsEmpties References and further reading. Leeds Empties interim social impact report: www.leedsempties.org.uk/leeds-empties-interim-social-impact-report-2014-15/ New Homes Bonus: www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-number-of- available-homes/supporting-pages/new-homes-bonus Image references and credits: - Leeds Street Scapes by Tim Green https://flic.kr/p/4wAQ6d Down Back Lucas St by Axel Bruns https://flic.kr/p/z lir5 - Layers of Leeds by SmilerSmiles https://flic.kr/p/pL6HHx Leeds Empties Empty homes statistics for Leeds correct as at 31 March 2014 Unlocking the potential of empty homes