More than 400 private long-term empty homes have been transformed back into use thanks to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Empty Property Team.
Since launching in 2021, the team has worked with landlords, homeowners and developers to tackle the issue of empty homes.
It said that one of the team’s biggest success stories is a Nelson property which had been empty for more than a decade.
After support from the team, and the impending introduction of an Empty Property Council Tax Premium, the owner agreed to sell, the council said. A local developer completed the transformation, returning it to the rental market.
Cllr Shayne Cook, Caerphilly Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said:
“This milestone highlights the Empty Property Team’s success in tackling vacant homes, using a mix of financial support, expert guidance, and, when needed, enforcement to ensure properties are renovated, reoccupied, and brought back into beneficial use.
“Empty properties are a blight on our communities and represent a wasted resource at a time when we face a national housing crisis. By bringing over 400 homes back into use, we’re not only tackling problem properties but also creating much-needed housing and breathing new life into neighbourhoods across the Caerphilly borough.”
