Renovating your empty property
Empty property owners wishing to bring their property to an acceptable living standard can benefit from a wide range of financial support including grants and interest-free loans. Below is a brief overview of the options available.
These are interest-free loans available to both landlords and prospective landlords to help them bring an empty property back into use or for eligible works to privately rented homes.
Private landlords with properties in the Caerphilly County Borough may apply for landlord loans.
Loans are available from £1,000 to £35,000 per property, for up to 10 properties to a maximum value of £250,000 per applicant. Please note: administration fees will apply.
Terms and conditions apply.
For further information on the Landlord Loan please contact private sector housing on 01443 811378 or email privatesectorhousing@caerphilly.gov.uk
These are interest-free loans available to owner-occupiers and prospective owner-occupiers to carry out essential property improvements / or works to make homes safe, warm, and secure. This includes owners of empty properties that are looking to occupy the property themselves when the work is completed.
The loan will cover a wide range of eligible works. For example:
Eligible homeowners or prospective homeowners who own an empty property within the Borough may be eligible to apply for an owner-occupier loan providing they reside at the property once the necessary works have been completed for the term of the loan.
Loans are available from £1,000 to £35,000, with a maximum loan period of 10 years.
The home improvement loan application will only be progressed if the credit union assessment is deemed affordable. We are unable to challenge or overturn any decision made by the Credit Union.
All applications for the owner-occupier loans will be referred to the credit union for assessment. Administration fees will apply. Terms and conditions apply.
For further information on the Owner Occupier Loans please contact private sector housing on 01443 811378 or email privatesectorhousing@caerphilly.gov.uk
First Time Buyers might be eligible for a Home Repair Grant. This is smallscale financial assistance to help fund essential repairs deemed necessary by the Council. Typical works covered by this grant are replacement doors and windows, roof repairs and replacement heating systems.
For empty homes these grants are limited to:
A 100% grant is awarded subject to maximum assistance of £10,000.
Post-grant conditions of 10 years of occupation will apply.
For further information on the Home Repairs Grant please contact private sector housing on 01443 811378 or email privatesectorhousing@caerphilly.gov.uk
Conversion grants are offered at the discretion of the council and are available to empty property owners for the provision of self-contained accommodation by conversion of:
Conversion grants are only available where the council considers the proposal to be appropriate to meet the housing and general needs of an area.
These grants are subject to a 50% contribution from the landlord, and a maximum grant of £15,000 per unit of accommodation provided.
For owner-occupiers, contributions are based on a means test and grants are subject to a maximum grant of £15,000 per unit of accommodation provided.
All applicants must comply with grant conditions for ten years following completion of the grant-aided works.
For further information on the Conversion Grants please contact private sector housing on 01443 811378 or email privatesectorhousing@caerphilly.gov.uk
Renovations and alterations to residential properties that have been empty for at least 2 years (10 years if non-residential) are eligible for a reduced VAT rate of 5%. This applies to labour and materials associated with repairs, alterations, construction of associated garages, and hard landscaping. Working with a VAT registered builder may significantly reduce the cost of bringing your empty property back into use.
A developer or homeowner can claim back all VAT charged on the renovation of a building that has been empty for 10 years or more once the dwelling is sold.
Reduced rates of VAT also apply to numerous types of building works, such as installing energy efficiency or energy-saving measures, adapting a building for a disabled person, or works to convert a nonresidential building into a home. These discounts may apply to works to bring an empty property back into use.
Further information on this reduced rate can be found in Section 8 of Public Notice 708 – VAT: Buildings and Construction, available from the National Advice Service on 0845 0109000 or from HM Revenue & Customs at www.gov.uk/business-tax/vat.
If you’re eligible, you’ll pay a reduced rate of VAT (5%) when certain energy-saving products are installed in your home. Your supplier will charge you the reduced rate on the installation and any extra work that is part of it.
Not all products or installations qualify for the reduced rate, and you cannot buy or install them yourself.
To qualify for the reduced rate, you must be over 60 or getting one or more of the following:
You will also be eligible to get the reduced rate on the products if the total cost of them (not including VAT) is not over 60% of the cost of the installation of the products (not including VAT).
If your products cost more than 60% of the installation, you’ll only be entitled to the reduced rate on the installation. Your supplier will be responsible for charging you the correct rate of VAT.
Example: The installer is charged £400 (excluding VAT) for insulation material and charges you £1,000 (excluding VAT) for the installation. As the value of the materials (the insulation) is only 40% of the total cost to you for both the materials and installation, the installer can charge the reduced VAT rate of 5% on the total cost as 5% of £1,000 is £50.
Example: The installer is charged £3,500 for solar panels and battery (excluding VAT) and charges you £5,385 (excluding VAT) for the installation. As the value of the materials (the solar panels and the battery) is 65% of the total cost to you for both the materials and installation, it is over the 60% threshold. This means the installer will need to charge VAT for the solar panel and battery at the standard rate and the installation will qualify for the reduced rate of 5%.
Further information on this reduced rate can be found in Section 8 of Public Notice 708 – VAT: Buildings and Construction, available from the National Advice Service on 0845 0109000 or from HM Revenue & Customs at www.gov.uk/business-tax/vat.
Certain renovation work may require Planning Permission or Building Regulation Approval. It’s important that empty property owners establish the requirement before starting any work.
For more information and to establish if planning and/or Building Control Approval is required please visit www.planningportal.co.uk/wales_en/
To make an application or for more information please visit Caerphilly CBC Building Control and Planning Department website at www.caerphilly.gov.uk/Services/Planning-and-building-control
A ‘listed building’ is a building, object or structure that has been judged to be of national, local, historical, or architectural interest. There are three different levels of listing for a building: Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II. All listed buildings are viewed the same and are treated equally in the planning system. Listing a building gives it legal protection, so that it can be preserved for future generations to enjoy. Conducting works on a listed building without prior consent can be detrimental to the building and can lead to prosecution.
If your house is a listed building, in addition to planning permission and building regulation approval, you will need to apply for listed building consent. Listed building consent is needed to alter, extend or totally or partially demolish a listed building and/or other objects or structures and buildings within the grounds of a listed building that were built before 1st July 1948. It also applied to works undertaken to the interior of a building.
Listed building consent is for example, needed to:
It is a criminal offence to carry out works to listed buildings without consent even if you did not know that the building was listed. Carrying out unauthorised work is punishable by a fine or a prison sentence and we can require you to restore the building to its original state.
The Heritage Funding Directory is a free guide to financial support for anyone undertaking UK-related heritage projects. This is a useful starting point for navigating funding sources in the sector and it is recommended that you visit the funder’s website directly to explore the latest information.
For full details about the range of grants available, please visit www.heritagefundingdirectoryuk.org
For more information on Listed Buildings, Listed Building Consent or Heritage Funding, please contact the Placemaking and Building Conservation Officer on 07850 916859 or email mcglyd@caerphilly.gov.uk
