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How we can help

How We Can Help

The Empty Property Team offer free independent advice to owners of empty properties on ways of bringing their properties back into use. If you own an empty property and are not sure what to do with it the following are some of the options available to you:

Letting the property - you could use a managing agent or become a private landlord and let the property yourself. EPT is developing a Private Sector Leasing Scheme, whereby, the owner leases their property to Sheffield City Council and it is then managed and let by Sheffield Homes. If you would like more information on this scheme please telephone John Corris on (0114) 2735172.
Selling the property- either through an estate agent, at auction, by advertising it yourself, or by selling to an accredited landlord on our ‘Invest in Sheffield’ list. If you own an empty property within the areas of Fir Vale or Burngreave, you could sell your property to a local Housing Association such as Arches Housing Ltd (0114) 2288100, Chevin Housing Group 0845 2701088, South Yorkshire Housing Association Limited (0114) 2900200.
Refurbishing the property for you to live in or to make the property suitable for letting. You may be able to take advantage of potential money saving tax incentives. Visit the HM Revenue and Customs website for more details for more details.

The Empty Property Team has produced guides for owners wishing to sell, let or refurbish their empty property which are available free of charge by calling us on (0114) 2735957.

The Council is able to deal with the following problems which empty properties can cause :

Rubbish which has been dumped and could attract vermin (eg rats),
Vermin (eg rats),
Unsafe parts of properties, for example loose slates and gutters,
Properties which are not secure and need boarding up,
Properties which are an eyesore,
Hedges which are overgrowing onto footpaths,
Dampness to adjacent properties from the empty.

If you would like to tell us about any of these problems please telephone the Empty Property Team on (0114) 2735957 or see the web page Reporting an empty property to us.

As empty properties can have a serious negative effect on a neighbourhood the Council can use powers of Compulsory Purchase to take a property from the existing owner. It would then be transferred to a Housing Association or sold on the open market with a view that a new owner would renovate it and arrange for it to be occupied. Whilst the original owner would be compensated for the market value of the property, it is only used as a measure of last resort where the owner is not showing satisfactory progress on renovation and re-occupation.

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