Empty houses

Empty homes can be a nuisance to communities, attracting vandals and squatters, resulting in petty crime and anti-social behaviour.  These homes can fall into disrepair quickly and adversely affect the amenity of an area and the value of neighbouring properties.  

How the council can help

The council is keen to see wasted homes put to good use and will endeavour to influence this where it can.

There is good reason why some empty homes remain as such (e.g. probate).  However, for reasons that are unknown, some owners seem inclined not to want to do anything with these properties and some seem to be simply abandoned.  Legislation provides some powers to bring empty homes back into use, e.g. Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs), however, the council does not have sufficient resource and cannot justify the financial cost of trying to enact EDMOs.

From our experience an EDMO can take up to two years to put in place even with the co-operation of the legal owner and with legal costs in excess of £10,000 (for a single property), even before any remedial works have been undertaken, the council does not believe this would be a proper use of public funds.

The council is aware of some 400+ properties in South Oxfordshire that have been empty for more than six months (long-term empty homes) and is very aware of the shortage of affordable housing for sale or rent in South Oxfordshire.  However, the council will not seize empty homes and is not currently in a position to divert resource in pursuance of EDMOs. 

The council will continue to record empty homes as and when they arise so that there is an up to date list available should legislation and/or policy change and the council finds itself in a more favourable position to act.

Contact us

If you wish to report an empty home, or own an empty home and would like guidance on putting it back into use and receiving a rental income for it, please contact Environmental Health using the contact details specified on the right hand side.