What approach will the Council take to enforcement action?
The council will adopt the following principles in its enforcement activity:
- transparency
- accountability
- proportionality
- consistency
- targeted only at cases for which action is needed.
The council will at all times have regard to an owner’s human rights and will not pursue enforcement action where it is disproportionate in human rights terms. This will be considered alongside the benefits to the wider community that will arise from ensuring that properties do not remain empty in circumstances that are disproportionate and unjustified.
The council will not use enforcement powers until all other avenues to encourage the owner to bring the property back into use have been exhausted. The council will want to see that the owner is taking proactive steps to bring the property back into use and that progress is being made in this respect.
For those owners who do not respond to positive encouragement, or when informal working does not bring a property back into use, and where it is appropriate, the council will take enforcement action but only after a property has been empty for more than twelve months.
Only when informal options have been exhausted or no contact has been established with the owner.
Where there is an urgent need to make a property safe or remove a nuisance immediate enforcement action can be taken.
The council will always use the most appropriate enforcement action to provide the desired result which is to bring the property back into use.
Properties empty for more than twelve months will be assessed and scored for inclusion on the empty homes priority list and enforcement action taken on the worst properties, which take into account the following factors:
- length of time the property has been empty
- history of the owner in respect of co- operating with us
- property history in respect of being open for access
- requests for action from the fire brigade or police
- number of complaints about the property
- anti-social behaviour; fly tipping, vandalism, arson, graffiti, substance abuse
- location of the property
- unsafe or dangerous elements
- effect on adjacent homes
- overgrown gardens
- accumulation of rubbish
- condition of boundary walls and fences
- impact of the property on the street and surrounding amenity.
We will communicate our intentions in plain English or in the appropriate language or method in accordance with the needs of the owner. The owner of the property will be made aware of the advice and support that the council can provide to assist the owner in bringing the property back into use, the enforcement powers it has and what action the council would intend to take including the relevant timescales and processes.
Once the owner of the property has been advised of the council’s intention to take enforcement action there will be a period during which the owner can consider their options and appeal against the proposed action being taken.
Details of the council’s complaints and appeals processes will be provided at the outset.
In addition, any enforcement action will be answerable and open to appropriate review in the light of changed circumstances at any stage of the enforcement process.
The council will undertake enforcement action as promptly and efficiently as possible in order to minimise delays and feedback will be sought on the service provided.
All action taken will be proportional to the circumstances of the individual case and the extent and impact of the empty home in the borough at the time.
The council will seek to ensure that cases are dealt with in a consistent manner and a regular review of the effectiveness of its enforcement activity will be undertaken. All officers undertaking enforcement action will be suitably trained, qualified and authorised so as to ensure that they are fully competent to undertake their enforcement duties.