Empty homes are a waste of homes and money.
There's lots of different reasons why a property becomes empty and stays empty. Empty properties can attract antisocial behaviour and cause the local neighbourhood to decline. If there's an empty home causing a nuisance near you, you can report it to us.
If you own an empty property we can help you bring it back into use. By leaving your house empty you could be losing up to £6,000 a year through loss of rent, Council Tax and insurance costs. The good news is there's a number of simple and quick ways to bring the property back into use.
We can:
- offer advice on inheritance, probate or family disputes issues
- offer a guaranteed rent through our leasing scheme with a housing provider
- discuss your options and the best way to proceed
- help find the right contractors to work on your house
- assist you to be a successful landlord
Our support is tailored and free of charge, and we'll listen to what you need and the problems you face.
Empty property grant
Our empty property grant can cover up to 50% of the costs of renovating an empty property up to a maximum of £10,000.
The grant can cover the following types of work:
- disrepair or structural issues
- damp and mould growth
- electrical rewiring
- thermal upgrading such as windows, boiler work and insulation
- improvements to kitchens or bathrooms
- major health and safety hazards
Grants are awarded on a discretionary basis and are subject to availability.
The following conditions apply to works covered by a grant:
- The property must have been empty for at least 24 months upon application submission.
- The applicant must have owned the property for at least 12 months upon application submission.
- The owner and/or the property must not have received a grant from Barnsley Council within the last ten years.
- The outstanding debt registered against the property must exceed 75% loan to value of the property valuation at application submission.
- There must be no debts owed to Barnsley Council.
Read the full terms and conditions of the grant.
How to apply
Fill in our online application form below. Make sure you upload your latest mortgage statement if required.
The first round of applications will be considered in January 2025 with decision notifications sent via email no later than February 2025.
Selling your empty home
We may be able to buy your empty property (criteria dependent) or put you in contact with private property investors.
To see if this is an option for your home, contact us online.
Letting your empty home
Becoming a landlord can be a daunting and time-consuming process however we're running a couple of schemes that you may find useful.
Leasing to a registered housing provider
We work with registered housing providers and housing associations who will lease properties from private landlords to provide homes for our customers.
Property leasing is an ideal solution for landlords who do not want the duty of the day to day management of their property(s). For more details about leasing your property please contact us online using our landlords enquiry form.
Renting and managing your own property
If you prefer to manage the property yourself, you can work directly with the Council’s Housing Options Team who help disadvantaged people access safe and affordable housing. There are many situations that can cause someone to be at risk of homelessness. In all cases the Housing Options Team is there to support people to find suitable housing to move to. Working directly with the Housing Options Teams they can offer support through advice and other practical support.
Owners that leave properties empty
If you decide to leave your property empty even after we've tried to help you, we have statutory powers that we're able to use.
Enforcement measures are only used as a last resort. This is where it's not been possible to trace the owner, agree a voluntary solution with them, or where a home has simply been abandoned.
You can find out more about this, and how we intend to tackle the problem of empty homes, by filling in our online form.
Do you have to pay Council Tax on an empty property?
From 1 April 2024 the following charges will apply in respect of long-term empty properties;
| Property continuously unoccupied/unfurnished (long term empty) | Premium charged | Overall charge |
| More than 1 year but less than 5 years | 100% | 200% |
| More than 5 years but less than 10 years | 200% | 300% |
| More than 10 years | 300% | 400% |
Empty properties may be entitled to a Council Tax discount under certain conditions. See Council Tax discounts to find out more.