Environmental health Empty properties

To be classed as empty, a property needs to be empty for longer than six months without any obvious signs of renovation or rental.  There are legitimate reasons for empty properties, for example where the process of a sale is occurring, or the process of probate following the death of an owner.  However, in the worst cases they can become a wasted resource, depriving people of a home and becoming a blight on local communities.

Empty property owners

Owning an empty property is an expensive responsibility and can become a source of unnecessary anxiety and stress. Estate agents will be able to advise you on the sale and rental values of a property, and what measures could be taken to increase those before marketing it. 

• The Action on Empty Homes website offers useful advice and information to empty property owners or people thinking of buying an empty property
• VAT discounts are currently available for the renovation of empty properties. It's advisable to apply for these discounts before starting any work on a property to ensure that you can claim it

You’ll need to evidence the length of time a property has been empty - our Council Tax team can provide this for you.

Please note that council tax rates increase the longer your property is empty.

There's an empty property on my street

We have very limited powers when it comes to empty properties.  Where there's a proven health hazard that meets the criteria of certain legislation, we may have a duty to act.  It would be assessed on a case-by-case basis on the information provided. The council and the fire service don't have automatic powers of entry into residential private properties.

The nature of your concern will determine which team you need to contact:

• If the property is a listed building and/or in a conservation area, please email historic.environment@shropshire.gov.uk. You can see if a property is listed or in a conservation area using the following search tools:
  • Listed buildings – Historic England
    
  • Conservation area -  Shropshire Council
• For anti-social behaviour/criminal activity please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team found here using the West Mercia Police website  
• To find out if the building is owned by Shropshire Council please use our land ownership page. If the empty property is owned by Shropshire Council and is causing a concern, please contact estates@shropshire.gov.uk

• If the property is causing vermin or damp issues to affect your property, you must ensure that you've carried out any necessary pest treatment/pest proofing works to your property and repaired any defects that may be the cause of any damp. Often condensation and/or mould can appear when a property adjoining yours is empty. This is because the empty property is no longer being heated and ventilated, and the adjoining wall now acts as an outer wall. There's no action we can take with regard to this. If the property is open to access and people are entering it unauthorised, or the opening is likely to attract easy access to the property, and/or there's an accumulation of waste (eg mattresses) that could cause vermin, please email environmental.protection@shropshire.gov.uk
• For a property that's in danger of immediate collapse or has falling elements that could injure the public please contact Building Control

What can you do

You may be able to find out who the owner of the property is by speaking to neighbours or by paying a small fee and making a search on Land Registry. This will enable you to make direct contact with the owner outlining your concerns. There may be assistance you can offer as a community to the empty property owner.

In some circumstances there might be private civil action that you could take against the owner of the property. You'd need to seek legal advice or contact the Citizen Advice Bureau for further advice.