Empty homes given new lease of life after years of neglect

Empty homes given new lease of life after years of neglect

Abandoned properties that have blighted neighbourhoods across the district have been transformed and returned to use. By working with property owners and, where necessary, using enforcement powers, Lancaster City Council brought 63 long-term empty homes back into use in 2025.

This work has helped increase the supply of much-needed housing, improved the look and feel of neighbourhoods and supported wider regeneration across the district.

Properties can remain empty for many reasons, including death, bankruptcy, family disputes and future investment plans.

The council tackles the issue through engagement with owners, intervention works to support improvements and, where required, legal action to compel urgent repairs. In the most extreme cases, where engagement has failed and a property remains inactive, the council can take steps to enforce the sale of a home.

To deter homes from standing empty, the council applies a council tax premium of 100 per cent to properties that have been empty for more than one year, meaning owners pay double their usual bill. The premium increases the longer a property remains empty: homes empty for more than five years pay triple the standard charge, rising to four times the bill after ten years.

Exceptions are available where owners are actively working to bring a property back into use, such as listing it for sale or rent, or where legal restrictions prevent occupation.

Claire Taylor, Lancaster City Council's empty homes officer, said: "Empty homes reduce available housing and can quickly fall into disrepair, affecting local residents and the wider community. We are committed to tackling the issue and bringing much-needed homes back into use for local people.

"While the council cannot control how many privately owned properties become empty, we can work to reduce the length of time they remain so, particularly where they are left in a poor state of repair.

"Each case is different and must be dealt with individually, which means finding a solution is not always straightforward. It is always really rewarding to see much needed homes brought back into use - particularly when it is ones that have been empty for so long," added

"I continue to work with empty home owners to see that their properties are brought back into use as soon as possible in order to uphold our commitment to increase the supply of local housing."

Since 2013, the council has helped bring 789 homes return to use and continues to work to bring the current 875 unoccupied properties back into use.

A property on Beecham Street, abandoned for 24 years and falling into a dangerous condition, is one of the homes recently fully refurbished and reoccupied. The owner was traced, but after failing to act on a council-issued notice to carry out urgent repairs, the council had to step in to undertake emergency works to make it safe, including removing a dangerous dormer. The owner was invoiced for the repairs and the property was later sold through the owner's estate.

Another property on Bay View Avenue stood empty for almost four decades after being left to a family member. The council repeatedly contacted the owner to address issues, including overgrown gardens. When ownership later transferred to another family member, the council worked with the new owner, who sold the property. It has now been renovated, sold and is once again lived in.

Residents concerned about properties that have been empty for two years or more, or that are in a state of disrepair, can report them to the council for investigation.

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Last updated: 09 March 2026