FEATURE
to bring a property back into use, where an owner cannot be traced or where a property has been empty for a long time and is causing a nuisance or is a danger to the public. In Scotland, the Community Right to Buy also allows communities to purchase such sites, even if the owner is unwilling to sell.
The rise in homelessness is encouraging the potential for increased use of regulatory powers, and has also generated a growing squatting culture, where even the 2013 laws that made squatting residential units illegal, is beginning to lose its effectiveness. Last month a TV documentary ‘Squatters Next Door’ espoused the proposition that landlords should be forced to open long- term vacant properties up for squatters.
There are other solutions to empty properties that remain unused for long periods.
It is always going to be more difficult to find new tenants or to resell buildings that are abandoned and neglected. To counter the obvious signs of neglect, it’s important to keep up general maintenance of the building’s fabric, and of the immediate surrounding grounds, if any. As Spring is here, grassy areas, shrubs and plants start to grow fast – if they’re not kept tidy, the building becomes a magnet for trespassers, fly-tipping and vandalism.
Simple security measures such as sturdy fencing, concrete bollards to block driveways and car parking entrances, and letter box seals, provide some protection.
More sophisticated measures would be to install alarms and CCTV, whose sensors are linked to a 24/7 monitoring centre, so that the signs of security breaches are caught early and the risks can be significantly reduced. To comply with insurance requirements, vacant units may need to have utilities cut off or drained down, and regular inspections.
At VPS, we also have a Property Guardians division. Learning from its Dutch sister company’s decades of experience in this field, suitable properties, from disused offices, former police stations and pubs, through to abandoned care homes and sports centres, are converted into temporary living accommodation, whilst funds and planning permission are sought. More recently, we have seen a rise in converting properties into similarly short- term work spaces.
In return for a fee that is about half the market rate in the private rental sector, property guardians can live or work in these properties that would otherwise stand empty, but with the risk that they may only be able to do so in the short term. To date, that ‘short-term’ can vary from about 6 months (over 90% of guardians) to over a year (60%) up to four years (less than 15%).
Whatever the solutions for long-term vacant properties, the supply of such buildings would seem to be on the increase, so deploying a range of appropriate options available is a necessary strategy to make the best use of these empty assets.
www.vpsgroup.com
www.tomorrowsfm.com TOMORROW’S FM | 45
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