Council delays decision on forcing landlords to rent out empty shops

Councillors have voted to delay using powers to force landlords to rent out vacant high street business premises.

Wakefield Council had been urged to implement High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) legislation in order to bring “continuously unoccupied” business premises back into use.

The policy, introduced in 2023 under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act, allows councils to auction the rights to rent out certain vacant properties in town centres to new tenants.

A motion tabled by Green Party councillor Kate Dodd called for the powers to be used in the district after figures showed around 15.8 per cent of commercial units in the district were currently vacant and “blighting our city centre, towns and high streets.”

Councillors instead voted in favour of an amended motion which called for a six-month delay to allow the council’s regeneration and scrutiny committee to consult with residents, landlords and businesses before using the powers.

Proposing the motion, Coun Dodd said: “It’s a proposal which I believe will make a big difference to our high streets and make considerable improvements for our shoppers, our small businesses and our community groups.

“It will return our high streets to the thriving places that residents across our district miss.

“This motion is not about tackling landlords – it’s about tackling long-term empty shops. Residents complain about these units repeatedly.”

Under the scheme, council’s have the power to require landlords to rent out properties that have been continuously unoccupied for 12 months, or at least 366 non-continuous days within a 24-month period.

Landlords are also obliged to pay to bring the premises up to a minimum standard, but may be able to access government grants in areas of high vacancy rates.

The powers have already been used by other councils including Barnsley, Bournemouth, Darlington, Mansfield and a number of London Boroughs.

Coun Dodd added: “Empty shops let down the look and feel of our high streets, leaving our places feeling depressed and neglected.

“Filling empty shops also helps existing businesses. A high street without closed, boarded up units is a welcoming high street.

“It’s where people want to shop and visit and it also deters anti-social behaviour and crime.

“The challenge for this council is to change the incentives for commercial landlords, so that keeping them open rather than keeping them shut becomes a default.

Introducing the amended motion, John Thomas, the council’s deputy leader, said: “We are not in disagreement that we need to bring our towns and city back to life.

“We need to encourage businesses to come in and use these empty retail units.

“However, currently, we don’t fully understand the main driving forces behind the vacancies, or why Wakefield is seeing above-average vacancies.

“That lack of understanding is not something that benefits residents, businesses or landlords.

“We need to understand the reasons before going down one particular avenue of getting this resolved.”

Coun Thomas said council leader Karl Johnson had also identified improved management of the city and town centres as one of ten key priorities for the district.