New fund to reinvigorate empty homes
OWNERS of empty homes will be able to apply for loans of up to £15,000 to help cover the cost of renovating them.
The National Empty Homes Loan Fund (NEHLF) has been launched to bring some of England’s 710,000 empty homes back into use.
The scheme is led by the charity Empty Homes, in partnership with central government and the Ecology Building Society.
Liverpool, Bury, Cheshire East, Rochdale, St Helens, Sefton and Warrington are among 39 local authorities taking part in a pilot of the scheme.
People with homes in these areas can apply directly through the Empty Homes website. However, the funding is available to people outside these areas who must submit applications to the Ecology Building Society.
Liverpool has 7,500 long-term empty homes. Mayor Joe Anderson said: “We are absolutely determined to bring empty properties across the city back into use and provide valuable homes for our residents. Properties left vacant blight our neighbourhoods and are a wasted resource.
“We know that many of our empty properties exist because owners simply do not have the money that is required to bring them back up to a habitable standard. We’re already making good progress in tackling this issue through our Housing Delivery Plan and Empty Homes Programme – and this new initiative will support the work we are doing.”
The scheme, funded by a grant of £3m from central government, will provide secured loans at a fixed 5% interest rate.
