We are following six demonstration projects where community-based organisations are bringing empty homes into use.
The six demonstration projects are:
We want to understand what works, as well as the challenges they face.
We aim to share their experiences, to encourage other organisations and areas to look at how community-based regeneration could work in their neighbourhoods.
You can read or download both the initial report on this project and the concluding report 'Community Action on Empty Homes' published on May 2nd 2019. This practical report includes recommendations and reviews learning from the full three-year research project, during which we followed the work of the six case study projects. Just click the document images below to view and download the reports as pdfs:
For an alternative look at how community-led organisations can bring empty homes back to use, with benefits for the whole community, see this recent HuffPost film featuring the great work of Canopy Housing in Leeds, creating homes from empty homes. The film also features a look at the wider picture from Action on Empty Homes, which covers the issues which unite empty homes in high and lower value markets around the country: https://bit.ly/2RHCWGY
For local authority officers working on empty homes:
Our Legal Toolkit looks summarises the powers and solutions available to local council officers taking enforcement action against homes left empty, it includes case studies to show how particular enforcement powers operate under current legislation, it is available for free download, here: 'Legal Toolkit: How to use the law to best effect to get empty homes back into use: a short guide on the legal options available to local authorities'