Empty houses
Did you know there are over 1,000 empty properties in Newcastle-under-Lyme?
We are working with owners to bring them back into use.
An empty home costs its owner thousands of pounds in maintenance, utilities charges, lost rent and council tax. We can offer advice on how to prevent this.
You may need to refurbish or repair the property before you can sell it or rent it out. Get the work done as soon as possible so you can start to recover the costs.
Reduction in VAT
There is a reduced VAT rate for the cost of renovating a property that has been empty for two years or more. You can pay just 5% instead of 20%. For further information on this, visit the HMRC website.
If you cannot afford the work or it is difficult to organise think about selling to a builder or developer at a lower price.
Selling the property
You can sell through an estate agent, at an auction or by advertising the property yourself. Get your property valued by a professional property survey or estate agent. Set an asking price, but decide how flexible you will be as potential buyers may try to negotiate the price.
Renting it out
If your home is ready to move into you can rent it out. You could do that yourself or use an agency. Renting through an agency can take out some of the hassle and responsibility, although you have to pay for the service.
Leaving it empty
You must keep your property and land around it in a good condition. Make it look occupied to deter criminals and anti-social behaviour.
Please note: empty properties are still liable for Council Tax charges.
Report an empty home
If you know of an empty property, you can report it to us. To report an empty property please use our general enquiry form:
Further information
The following may be helpful:
- see our housing strategy
- a charity called Action on Empty Homes also focus on bringing empty homes into use