THE borough council says it is working “as quickly as possible” to bring vacant properties back into use following a shocking revelation that 1,721 Warrington properties remain empty, while 5,490 people are on the Council house waiting list in despair.
The startling statistics have been revealed by local sales & letting agents Gary Pemberton while researching the most recent set of figures on empty properties in the town which is facing a housing crisis. While only 637 of the properties were empty for more than six months, empty properties fuel the housing crisis, with not enough supply to meet demand.
Gary from Belvoir Sales & Lettings based on Sankey Street, Warrington said: “The answer is clearly to build more property in Warrington – but that, unfortunately for those badly seeking to buy or rent a home in Warrington, takes a lot of time and massive amounts of money. So, what other solutions are there?
“Talking to a Warrington client of mine recently, the subject of the housing crisis was mentioned. They suggested that all the empty properties in Warrington could be the solution to this problem. On the face of it, it seems so obvious. Now quite interestingly, I had recently done some research on this topic.
“The most recent set of figures from 2022 state there are 1,721 empty homes in the Warrington Council area. So it begs the question, why not put these homes back into the housing system and help ease the Warrington housing crisis? Whilst they stand empty, 5,490 Warrington families are on the Council House Waiting List for council houses.
“Nationally, the picture is very similar with 1,206,376 families on Council house waiting lists with 676,304 homes empty.
“Surely, we can all agree that property left empty for many years isn’t morally right? … yet a different story emerges when you look deeper into the numbers.
“Every October on one specific day, each local authority must report every property that is empty, even if it’s only been so for a week.
“So many of these Warrington properties are either awaiting new homeowners or, in the case of rental properties, new tenants. Also most certainly, some properties are being refurbished and renovated, some are deceased estates, while other properties have homeowners that have moved out and are in the process of being sold (e.g. a part exchange property).
“Of those 1,721 Warrington homes lying empty, only 637 properties were empty for more than six months.
“The fact is that the number of genuinely long-term empty properties is only a tiny drop in the ocean of the 90,538 properties in the area covered by Warrington Borough Council and, even if every one of those empty homes were filled with tenants tomorrow, it would only meet a small fraction of Warrington’s housing needs.”
Gary added: “This scarcity of available homes contributes to the maintenance of high rents, which presents a favourable situation for Warrington landlords who are investing in buy-to-let properties.
“Simultaneously, it also serves to keep Warrington house prices at a relatively elevated level.
“The implications of this situation are particularly evident in the context of Warrington’s rental market, where the demand for properties is exceptionally high.
“Due to the challenges faced by young individuals in affording homeownership and the financial constraints limiting the construction of new council houses by local authorities, the growth of the rental market becomes an undeniable reality.
“Consequently, landlords predominantly focus their investments on the lower end of the housing market, such as starter homes, further fortifying property prices.
“This cyclical pattern sustains the entire market as sellers, propelled by the increasing demand, progress up the property ladder, thereby enabling others to purchase homes and continuing the process in a chain-like manner,” added Gary.
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “Of the homes that are currently empty in Warrington, many of these properties are awaiting new owners, or in the case of rental properties, new tenants. Other properties are either in the process of being refurbished, renovated, or sold. Only a small number of properties are vacant long-term and have been empty for more than six months.
“To help reduce the number of people on the housing waitlist, we are facilitating the development of new houses across the borough to meet identified needs, with approximately 1,400 new homes constructed last year. Our Local Plan requires that 30% of these new homes are affordable – the majority of which must be provided as affordable rent properties where we can place people currently on the waiting list.
“We are also looking at vacant stock held by the council and by local Housing Associations in order to bring empty properties back into purposeful use, using funding from both the government and the council where necessary.
“We aim to bring empty properties back into use as quickly as possible. We try to work with owners to bring properties back into use, providing advice on appropriate options such as renovation, rental, or sale. We can assist in finding interested buyers and may offer loans to renovate houses for rental purposes.”
1 Comment
so why do we keep building half bit houses and flats