Empty properties which present a “danger” to the public have been brought to the attention of the Environment Minister through a reporting service designed to help document vacant homes in Jersey.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf has had 36 properties referred to him for consideration as a result of the Empty Homes Service, which enabled Islanders to log the location of houses they believed to be vacant by email, over the phone, or by reporting them online.
The initiative formed part of Housing Minister Deputy David Warr’s Action on Vacant Properties plan – a 35-page document released last year that outlined objectives aimed at tackling the issue.
Deputy Warr has this week published the initial results of the service in a report, which says it received a “strong public response” following its launch in January – with 260 cases being reported in the first six months.
This represents 29% of the 900 homes that Deputy Warr’s department has previously estimated to be truly vacant in Jersey.
Of the 260 reported cases, 100 – relating to 132 individual properties – have been subject to a “high-level” review to determine what can be done to help bring them back into use.
Of those, 36 homes are considered to be in a condition that is “causing serious harm to the character and quality of the environment”, and have been referred to Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf for consideration.
Deputy Warr said these properties were “spread around the Island” and explained that, in addition to being a “blot on the landscape”, some also presented structural risks and could be “a danger to people walking past on the street”.
“We are keen to get these properties back into use and if we can do this through existing regulations, it is important that we work with the Environment Minister to find what the best course of action is,” he added.
“Compulsory purchase is the elephant in the room and we have to tread very carefully before we decide to go down that route.”
The report also noted that a key part of the Action on Vacant Properties plan was to consider a potential tax on empty properties, to discourage owners from leaving them vacant for long periods.
However, Deputy Warr said: “Taxing people without having strong legal definitions around empty homes is a real challenge.”
The report also stated: “Whilst it is maintained that introducing a tax on empty properties would not be effective, as a result of the early work by the Empty Homes Service and the closer analysis of the application of parish rates, it is considered that further work to evaluate the existing rates valuation system would be worthwhile.”
