February

2009
THE EMPTY HOMES AGENCY
Monthly News Bulletin

Empty Homes Agency, Downstream Building, 1 London Bridge, London, SE1 9BG
Tel: 020 7022 1870 Email: [email protected]
Statements in this newsletter are for guidance only and the Empty Homes Agency will not accept
liability for losses resulting from reliance on them. Professional advice should always be obtained.
Table of Contents

1 A Word….
2 Press Release…Dismay at record rise in empty homes
3 Event: Ecobuild 2009 – 3rd – 5th March 2009
4 What else is coming up….
5 Other News
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1
A Word…
David Ireland, Chief Executive

First it was the banks then the car industry and now everybody is asking to be bailed out by
the government. Last month even the Honda Formula one team was telling everybody who
would listen that the government should rescue it.
Amongst all of this there has been very little talk of a housing rescue package. Given what is
happening to the industry and the importance of housing to the population at large this seems
a little odd.

This week we reported that the number of empty homes has risen at the fastest rate since
1992. In England the figure stands at just below 700,000. And if you look at council tax
information across the whole of the UK the figure stands at 943,000. I am on record for
predicting that it will top a million this year. I say this with no glee and it is no empty
campaigning point to say that it may even be there already. There can be no clearer sign of
the deteriorating housing market than thousands of empty homes on our streets. If we are
going to turn this round we need a rescue package that will encourage councils to take action,
get housing associations to invest in empty homes and encourage developers back into the
business of rescuing empty property.

This month at last it appears that others are beginning to agree. The excellent Inside Housing
“Empty Promise” campaign has got fantastic support.

Here’s what we want to see:

• Cut VAT to 5% on renovation work to all empty homes

• Provide housing associations with grants to not only buy but renovate empty
homes

• Provide housing associations and housing coops with a small shortlife grants to
get temporarily vacant property habitable

• Give councils proper rewards for getting homes back into use thorough the
Housing and Planning delivery grant mechanism

Include homes returned to use within local government national indicators

Here’s what you can do:

• Report any empty homes you know at http://reportemptyhomes.com/

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• Sign the Empty Promise petition
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EmptyPromise/

• Show your support by writing to Inside Housing at

[email protected]

David Ireland
Chief Executive
Empty Homes Agency
Tel: 020 7022 1867
Email: [email protected]

Press Release: Empty Homes

Agency Dismay at Record Rise in
Empty Homes

The Empty Homes Agency has reacted with dismay to the latest Government figures showing
the biggest annual jump in empty homes in England in seventeen years. The figures rose from
672,000 to 697,000.

Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency David Ireland said "The recession is having a
calamitous impact on vacancy levels. Big regeneration schemes are stalled, half-finished
houses have been abandoned, and normal developments in the market that bring homes back
into use have ground to a halt."

He added "We fear worse is to come and we predict the total for the UK will exceed a million
this year. With the housing market seemingly unable to deal with the problem it is more
important than ever that councils use their powers to help, housing associations redirect their
investment towards purchasing and repairing empty homes, and owners make their property
available for short-term use. Unless we take action now we are on course for over a million
empty homes in the UK at a time of record housing need."

The Empty Homes Agency is calling on councils to improve their performance in bringing
empty homes back into use. It is calling on the Government and the Homes and Communities
Agency to redirect investment intended for building new homes towards purchase and repair
of empty and run-down private homes, and calling on them to provide small grants to enable
housing associations and co-operatives to operate short life housing schemes.

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Ends
3
Notes

The figures for empty homes reported in this press release are sourced from the annual
Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA), published by the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) using returns from English local authorities; see
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/hssa08sectionad.xls, cols. AO-AU for
detailed data. They show how many homes owned by councils, housing associations, private
companies and individuals were empty at the end of March 2008, and how many of the
privately owned properties had been vacant for six months or longer. Note these figures only
give the picture up to 1st April 2008 - before the housing market really went into freefall - so
the real picture is probably now considerably worse.

The Empty Homes Agency is reporting its estimated running total of empty homes in England
on its website www.emptyhomes.com. Its estimate is based on council tax data, not the
HSSA source reported in this press release.

The Empty Homes Agency has calculated that empty homes across the whole of the UK
stood at 943,000 in 2008.

Event: ECOBUILD 2009 - 3rd - 5th

March 2009
It's free to visit Ecobuild and all its attractions, seminars and conference sessions, plus all the events in
the UKGBC Arena.

Opening times
Tuesday 03 March 10.00 – 17.00
Wednesday 04 March 10.00 – 18.00
Thursday 05 March 10.00 – 16.00

Exhibition
The Ecobuild exhibition is the biggest of its kind, anywhere in the world, with 800 suppliers of
sustainable building products and services. From building structures to SUDS, micro-renewables to
natural materials, and insulation to living roofs, you'll find it at Ecobuild.

Conference & seminars

Ecobuild's conference and seminar programme is renowned for the quality and relevance of the
information it delivers. More than 100 free sessions covering the most important and pressing themes,

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and delivered by 500 highly-regarded and world-renowned speakers, make Ecobuild the most important
event of the year for built environment professionals.

Attractions
Ecobuild's immensely popular attractions are back for 2009 with new attractions including Renew, Eco
Interiors, Clad It and Off-grid Living - all designed to inform and to inspire, and to complement the
seminar programme.

The arena
Make sure you take your seat early for Ecobuild's Arena. The most popular new initiative in 2008, the
Arena programme for 2009 promises to be even more inspiring and entertaining than before. It's an
eclectic mix, taking in debates, interviews and keynotes that view the built environment from a series of
different perspectives - politics, art, science, philosophy and more. Michael Portillo, Matthew Parris,
Mark Lawson, James Naughtie and Dan Cruickshank are amongst the well-known figures taking part.

To find out more information click below:

http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/page.cfm/Link=1/t=m/goSection=1

To register for your free place click on the link below:

http://www.exporeg.co.uk/reg/ebuild09/login.asp

For more events on the Empty Homes Agency website please click here

What else is coming up….

VAT reform inches forward

More twists and turns in the convoluted tale of VAT reform.

As part of its discussions about the European Economic Recovery Plan in December, the European
Council set out two Actions relating to VAT. Action 2 says that: “The Council should adopt, before the
Spring 2009 European Council, the proposed directive to make permanent reduced VAT rates for
labour intensive services” – i.e. potentially including building repairs, maintenance and improvements.
Action 7 says: “The Commission will propose reduced VAT rates for green products and services,
aimed at improving in particular energy efficiency of buildings”.

This is all good news: VAT reform is now officially seen as integral to tackling the recession. The less
good news is that the 10 February meeting of ECOFIN (the European Council of Finance Ministers)
again came to no decision. A further discussion (!) is expected at the Council's meeting on 10 March, in
the run-up to the next European Council on 19 and 20 March. Nothing happens fast in the world of
VAT, but we’ll keep you posted if it does.

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EDMOs Guide appearing soon

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At last! The Guide to EDMOs we’ve been working on for more than a year now is almost ready. In fact,
it is ready; we’re delighted to say we’ve got ministerial endorsement for it, so all we’re waiting for now is
a photo of Margaret Becket to put with her foreword. We’ll be press releasing it in the next few weeks.

It has several elements: a flow chart links to a more detailed step-by-step guide, with highlighted Top
Tips and Pitfalls to avoid. There’s a checklist, a set of model documents and a case study section
(which has only one so far, but we hope to expand that). Model documents and legislative references
are hyperlinked from the step-by-step text. If you’ve got a case study you’d like us to feature, please let
us know – you can either write it up yourself or brief us and we’ll ghost it for you. It’s all based on the
experience of empty property officers who’ve done EDMOs themselves, so you don’t have to learn the
same lessons the hard way.

The Guide is a currently entirely web-based, although we’re looking at whether we could produce part
or all of it in printed form. If you have any thoughts on the need (or not) for a paper version please do
let us know.

Henry Oliver
Policy Advisor
Empty Homes Agency
Tel: 020 7022 1869
Email: [email protected]

Other News

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New guardian angels flock to rescue of empty homes - 2nd February 2009
Independent - London,England,UK
The number of properties – both residential and commercial – languishing unoccupied is on
the increase, according to the Empty Homes Agency, a campaigning ...

Thinking clearly - 30th January 2009

Inside Housing - UK
As Inside Housing’s new campaign argues today, it could help bring thousands of empty
homes back into use. But it would also create jobs in the building ...

Campaign launched to fill empty homes

Inside Housing - UK
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to fill the UK’s empty homes, which are expected
to number over 1 million by the end of the year. ...

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Squatting: 'We climbed the drainpipe and moved in' - 22nd January 2009
Telegraph.co.uk - London,England,UK
There are enough vacant homes inEngland to house almost two million people, claims the
Empty Homes Agency. Squatting, it says, is certain to become ...

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For more on latest Empty Homes Agency Press Releases and Other Empty Property
News please visit:

http://www.emptyhomes.com/latestnews/latest_news.html