Crackdown on irresponsible landlords at heart of anti-social behaviour plan

Plans for empty shops to be taken over by local businesses and unlimited fines for landlords who allow properties to fall into disrepair have been put at the heart of the government’s anti-social behaviour crackdown. Ministers yesterday confirmed that plans for High Street Rental Auctions would be pushed through as part of an Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan. The measures will give councils £2m to support new powers to auction off the right to rent the shops to local businesses and communities. The money will be used to cover the cost of refurbishing properties, the auction and council fees. Ministers said that boarded-up shops caused high streets to fall into disrepair, which then gave rise to anti-social behaviour. Unlimited fines for “irresponsible landlords” who allow their properties to fall into disrepair, allowing “anti-social behaviour to thrive”, have also been pledged. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove is now joint lead of the new anti-social taskforce with home secretary Suella Braverman. Gove said: “Too many high streets, which were once the beating hearts of our communities, have fallen into disrepair and are now blighted by boarded-up shops, broken windows and anti-social behaviour.” Up to 172,000 commercial properties are empty across the UK and eight out of 10 of these have been vacant for more than two years. The North East and West Midlands have the most shuttered shops, with over 15% properties empty, resulting in hollowed out town centres. Councils will also be able to seize houses once they have been empty for six months, instead of having to wait two years. The government added that the Law Commission’s review of current leasing laws would further remove barriers to accessing property and help small businesses to occupy properties quicker and reduce the number of empty shops on high streets. The programme was welcomed by BPF chief executive Melanie Leech. Leech said: “Outdated legislation has hindered town centre regeneration for years, and it’s great to see government finally make good on their 2020 promise to review it. “Ideally the review would be of all commercial tenancy legislation, but even a more limited review of the 1954 Landlord & Tenant Act could see some straightforward changes to speed up, simplify and reduce the cost of starting and renewing tenancies making it easier to let empty properties, in turn boosting town centre economies.” Among other plans is a £2.5m High Street Accelerator programme, initially run in up to 10 pilot areas. Leech said: “It’s great to see government take up our idea of targeted support to breathe life into run down town centres through Town Centre Accelerators. “We’ve been making the case for this kind of bespoke approach that brings together stakeholders – business, the council and the local community – because we know that often it’s small-scale local issues that can hinder investment, and sometimes it just needs a limited amount of funding and local capacity to get new developments moving. “The detail still needs to be worked out but this announcement is a big step in the right direction.” Ministers are also looking at whether the National Planning Policy Framework should be changed to focus on street safety, covering areas such as CCTV and extra lighting. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Photo © Bruce Adams/ANL/Shutterstock