Bid to get more empty homes back into use

They appointed an empty homes officer for the first time, tasked with working to get accommodation left unoccupied back into use.

The move was made in recognition that empty homes can have a negative impact on neighbourhoods but also to help ease the need for housing, in an era where there are more than 7,000 families waiting for council housing in the town.

Now residents are being encouraged to report empty homes in their communities, in support of Empty Homes Week, organised by the national charity Action on Empty Homes.

According to their figures, 2.8 per cent of all properties are long-term empty, with numbers increasing in recent years.

Rotherham is below average, at 2.65 per cent

Since 2021, the Council’s Empty Homes Officer has dealt with over 420 enquiries and helped to bring 91 properties back into use.

One resident said: “The process that I had to go through to sell my home was stressful, but the Council’s Empty Homes Officer made it easier for me.

“They helped me in many ways, including arranging for the estate agents to visit the property and being with me during valuations to explain the process.

“As well as helping talk me through various reports and deciding who best to go with.”

Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Sarah Allen, said: “We understand that empty homes can have a negative and problematic impact on communities and believe that it is important to bring empty properties back into use to create cleaner, greener, and safer neighbourhoods.

“Our Empty Homes Plan highlights a variety of ways that we can support and encourage homeowners to bring empty properties back into use. We urge anyone who is struggling to bring a residential empty property back into use, or anyone who knows of an empty property and would like to see it transformed into a home again to contact us.

“Despite there being many reasons as to why a property remains empty, the majority can be brought back into use.”

To find out more about how the Council can help you with your empty home, go online to www.rotherham.gov.uk/private-housing/report-a-problem-with-a-property-or-empty-homes/3.