MORE than 120 long-term empty properties in Merthyr Tydfil have been returned to beneficial use over the last three years through council intervention, figures show.
Data in a report to the council’s regeneration, housing and public protection committee on Tuesday, April 8, shows 41 of 582 (7.04%) empty properties were brought back into use in 2022-23, 39 of 529 (7.37%) in 2023-24 and provisional figures for 2024-25 show 42 of 540 (7.8%) were brought back into use through direct action by the council.
It said if the trend continues over the next two financial years, then the target of bringing a total 200 long-term empty properties back into use over the five years of the empty property strategy will be met.
The report said there is a general reduction in the total number of long-term empty properties since the introduction of the strategy.
The report said the strategy recognised empty homes are a wasted resource particularly when there is a need for more housing across the county borough but homes which become empty for short periods of time, up to six months, whilst they are being renovated or improved before letting or sale do not present a problem.
The report said homes which have been empty for more than six months are not only a waste of valuable resource but can have a negative impact to the area and it is these long-term empty properties that were the intended focus of the strategy.
The aim of the strategy is to “unlock the housing potential of long-term empty homes by brining 7% of our empty properties back into use each year”.
The specific target within the strategy is “to bring a further 200 empty properties back into use”.
The success in bringing empty private sector residential properties back into use is being measured using the Welsh Local Government Association public accountability measures and performance will be compared to other councils in Wales.
It includes “the percentage of empty private sector properties brought back into use during the year through direct action by the local authority”.
The number is derived from the number of private properties that have been empty for more than six months on April 1.
The strategy addresses properties which have previously been used as homes and does not consider historic buildings located within the town centre which are considered within the Merthyr Tydfil Town Centre Placemaking Plan.
In November 2024, full council approved council tax premiums on long-term empty properties including a 100% premium on those empty for one to five years, a 150% premium on those empty for five to 10 years and a 200% premium on properties empty for more than 10 years with effect from this month.
