Caerphilly County Borough Council has welcomed the Welsh Government’s National Empty Home Grant, which aims to bring privately owned empty homes back into use
Welsh Government will allocate £2.31m to the Council, with Cabinet members approving an additional £231,000 funding to support the grant and enable more owners of empty homes to bring their properties back into use.
It is estimated that the programme could bring 101 empty private homes back into use in the Caerphilly county borough over the programme’s two-year duration between April 2023 – 25, with £25,000 allocated per home.
Welsh empty homes have been condemned as a “blight on local communities”
When the Welsh Government’s National Empty Home Grant was announced, climate change minister in the Senedd Julie James commented: “These are a wasted housing resource that can become a blight on our communities.”
“It’s really important to get the empty homes back into use. They are an obvious waste, given we have real problems with housing across Wales. But they also blight streets and villages.
“We know the whole street, the whole village is really appreciative when a house comes back into use. It allows young people or young couples to go back to the places where they grew up.
“Often these houses belonged to a relative but it has been beyond their means to bring it back to inhabitable standards and it’s perhaps been impossible to raise finance on the house because mortgage companies won’t do damp-proof course work or whatever it is. These grants are designed to bring a house back into beneficial use.”
Funding will also be available to local authorities and social housing groups
The property in question must have been registered as empty with the local authority for a minimum of 12 months to qualify for the national scheme.
Registered social landlords, local authorities and community housing groups will also be able to access the funding for empty properties they are acquiring to bring back into use as affordable housing.
Cllr Shayne Cook, the Council’s Cabinet member for housing, said “The Council has a dedicated team in place who are working extremely hard to engage and support owners of empty homes. Long term empty homes are not only a blight on local communities but also represent a wasted resource whilst we are in the midst of a national housing crisis.
“We’re grateful to Welsh Government for this funding allocation and also to my fellow Cabinet members for approving the additional money needed to really make a difference in tackling the issue of empty homes in the borough.”
Caerphilly Council’s dedicated team can be contacted about the Welsh empty homes grant by phone or email.
For social housing landlords, housing associations or local authorities seeking more insight about refurbishing empty or derelict properties back into the housing market and related procurement services, more information on LHC’s Whole House Refurbishment and Associated Works framework can be found here.
