By local democracy reporter Jude Holden
THE number of homes empty in Wiltshire for more than six months is the highest since 2009 according to government figures.
There were 2,081 homes vacant for more than six months of the year in 2022 according to figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The data goes back to 2009 when Wiltshire Council formed as a unitary authority. This comes after council figures showed a 70% rise in homelessness across Wiltshire. These are properties liable for council tax that have been empty for more than six months and that are not subject to empty homes discount or empty due to specific flooding events.
Cabinet member for housing Phil Alford said in response to the record high, “In Wiltshire around 1.9% of homes are currently empty. We do everything we can to ensure homes are not empty but there can be a variety of reasons for this. 75% of homes are empty for less than a year as many are in the process of being sold, refurbished, or let to new tenants.
“There’s an incentive for homes to be occupied as council tax rises to 150% if a home is empty for more than two years, but in most cases, there is a reason why a home is unoccupied for longer. This could be ownership disputes, or where a home has been specially adapted to support the elderly.
“We’re also embarking on a council house build programme which will see around £195m invested into new, energy-efficient council homes over a ten-year period.”
Wiltshire Council Liberal Democrat leader Ian Thorn said, “We should be encouraging property owners to put them back into use. This can be done through double council tax on second homes for example. There’s an enormous need for new homes. A carrot and stick approach is needed and the empty properties need to be filled as it’s obviously a very pressing issue.”
The recent 70% increase in homelessness in the county has caused a 46% in demand for temporary accommodation according to the council documents discussed at the meeting.
As of the end of March, there were 179 households in temporary accommodation in Wiltshire according to the council. The leader of Wiltshire Council, Richard Clewer, said the increase was primarily because the private rented housing market is ‘broken’ and too expensive.
