Election special: Greens call for new role for councils in buying empty and ex-PRS homes

According to a House of Commons Library report, as of October last year, there were 676,304 empty homes in England but, of these, only 248,149 were classed as long-term empty, meaning they had been vacant for six months or more.

The party would make this easier not by giving councils a discount, but by giving them first right of refusal on certain types of properties entering the market. This would include long-term empty homes. Ms Denyer says the party would make an exception for homes empty while they are stuck in probate.

“Also if there is a private landlord that’s exiting the market, then we will give councils first right of refusal on that. It’s recognising that while there is a housing shortage, there’s also a lot of housing that has gone from the public sector into the private sector through the Right to Buy, which we would also end,” she says.

Funding for councils

The Greens would like to see a higher proportion of social – rather than ‘affordable’ – homes mandated in the planning system, but would leave it up to individual councils to set those levels on developments. “If the developers are unwilling to meet this percentage, they should have the powers to step in and compulsorily purchase the site,” Ms Denyer says.

The Green Party would also see more funding go to councils. Local authorities across the country are facing significant financial pressures, particularly around temporary accommodation, with several effectively declaring themselves bankrupt.

And, of course, the party is focused on environmental policies. It would see a £145bn investment in retrofitting homes over 10 years. This would sit alongside grants for those on the lowest incomes and government-backed property-linked loans.

“It’s property-linked finance. So that means that it doesn’t matter if you don’t pay it off before you move out because the loan stays attached to the home rather than to the person. We estimate that it would, on average, save people £400 to £500 a year on their energy bills, so it would be affordable.”

The scheme is similar to the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition’s failed Green Deal policy. However, Ms Denyer says: “We envisage an additional £145bn over 10 years in support for householders. This would create a completely different context for property-linked finance than exists under the limited funding available under the current government.”

What about if the landlord still refuses? The private tenant could ask the council to do the work as part of its retrofit programme, Ms Denyer says.

The Greens would like to see rent controls introduced to the PRS, not as a top-down policy but one councils could install if and how they see fit. Is the party concerned about a potential exodus of landlords as a result?

Ms Denyer points to the policy of giving councils first right of refusal to buy up those homes if landlords did leave the market.

But she adds: “I don’t think it would for most landlords. I honestly think that is a threat used by some in the landlord sector to resist regulation.”