Empty homes

To ensure we are making the best use of property in the city Plymouth City Council has an Empty Homes Strategy which aims to maximise the use of the city’s private sector housing stock.

This is important because there is a need for more housing in the city and empty homes attract vermin, criminal activity and anti social activity such as fly tipping which can have a negative impact on a local neighbourhood.

The number of empty homes that have been brought back to use has increased every year since 2006. An average of 25 per cent of these homes had been empty for over three years. The cost to the owner in leaving a house empty is approximately £10,000 per year.

As of April 2011 the council receives the new homes bonus for each home brought back into use, adding further incentive to maximise use of the private housing stock.

Chart showing empty homes brought back into use [13KB]

This page of the annual monitoring report was last updated in December 2011.