Find out how the Empty Properties Team can help owners and residents who have concerns about an empty property.

Owners of empty properties

Keeping a property empty brings with it many problems:

  • targeted by vandals and squatters
  • regular visits are needed to the property to ensure it is secure
  • repairs and general maintenance still have to be carried out and insurance and council tax still has to be paid
  • insurance can be invalid if unoccupied more than 30 days (always check with your insurance company) 

Options for owners

The options for bringing your property back into use include:

  • re-occupying your property yourself
  • letting and managing the property yourself
  • iability for council tax and utilities would pass to the new owners or occupiers
  • managing the property yourself with tenants nominated by our homeless prevention service through the Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme
  • letting the property through a letting and management agent
  • selling the property via an estate agent
  • selling the property at auction

The benefits of bringing a property back into use

For owners

Owners could benefit from:

  • rental income or better sales potential
  • help with finding tenants
  • preventing damage caused by anti-social behavior 
  • hassle free property management
  • help and advice on legal responsibilities and standards
  • energy efficiency advice.

For the local area

The local area could benefit from:

  • removing an eye-sore property within the neighbourhood
  • improvement in the neighbourhood by promoting investment in the area
  • maintaining the value of neighbourhood properties

 For the city

Wolverhampton benefits from:

  • making maximum use of all housing stock to provide decent homes.
  • wider housing choice for residents

The Empty Property team can

  • bring empty properties back into use
  • working with the community to identify and secure empty properties
  • tracing property owners 
  • purchasing an empty property
  • private sector leasing schemes for empty properties
  • force owners to bring the property back into use as a last resort

Report an empty property

If you have concerns about a property being empty then you should report it.

10748