Empty Homes Agency

Annual Report 2004

The Empty Homes Agency is an

independent campaigning charity,
which exists to highlight the waste
of empty property in England and
works with others to devise and
promote sustainable solutions to
bring empty property back into use.
Contents Chair’s Report
Chairs Report 1 This will be my last Chair’s report as
I am standing down, with real
regret, to focus on some new
Chief Executive’s Report 2-3
challenges in my life, which are
increasingly demanding.
Local Empty Property Charter 5 funding to protect our
However, I am pleased to report
Local Authority Project 6-7 that I am leaving the Agency in
extremely good shape and with an
exciting future ahead. One of our
London Project 8-9 strengths has always been the
partnership between the staff and
Low Demand Project 10-11 the Board members and this is
continuing to flourish with the new
Board appointments and the
Registered Social Landlord Advisor Project 12-13
expanded staff team. Between us
all, we represent an impressive
Communicatons 14-15 resource of expertise on Empty
Homes issues which is why we
Awards 16-17 continue to be listened to at all
levels of government.
Financial Report 18-19
This year we have seen a number
of campaign successes, backed up
Special Thanks 20 by a prodigious amount of press
and media work, which culminated
Publications 21 in Keith Hill’s announcement that
Compulsory Leasing will be added
into the Housing Bill during the
Lord’s stage. We continue to be at
the leading edge of imaginative
solutions to the scandal of empty
properties in both low and high
demand areas. One of our great
strengths has been to translate
these ideas into practical solutions,
which work.
I am also pleased to report that the
Agency, this year, has secured
several longer-term funding grants,
which has helped to underpin our
activities as well as providing
opportunities for several new
projects. Our aim, as always, is to
retain a mix of public and private
independence and we now have a
breadth of income from sources
such as the Community Fund, GLA,
Lloyds TSB Foundation and the
Housing Corporation as well as the Maggie Jones
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Chair
which reflect that principle.
As I write we are in the process of
short-listing for the new Chair and
we have been impressed with the
calibre of the applications. This in
itself reflects well on the success of
the Agency, and we hope to make
a decision and announcement
soon. I will be available to manage
the hand-over and hope to
continue to play an active part as a
Board member.
In the meantime, I extend my
thanks to those Board members
who, for a variety of reasons, have
had to step down this year, but we
hope will still be able to contribute
to our activities.
I have enjoyed my period as Chair
enormously and am proud to have
led the Board through such an
exciting and productive time. I
wish the new Chair every success
and hope they find their new role
equally rewarding.
1
Chief Executive’s Report

The past year has seen would never have been achieved gave us a one-off grant to promote Adviser, moved on with a
really heartening without your support! Once this the role of Housing Associations in promotion. We will miss her and
developments in the new power becomes law, we will managing private empty homes. wish her all the best for the future.
campaign to bring then have a full agenda of This funding allowed us to second
more empty homes encouraging local authorities to use an employee from a Housing I would also like to record my
back into use to help these management orders. Association. We also received thanks for the time and
meet housing need continued support for our London encouragement offered by our
We also saw the 2003 Local empty property hotline from the voluntary Board members.
Chief among these Government Act address two major Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.
must be the success of obstacles to empty property work. The Mayor has been very supportive So hopefully you will see from my
our campaign for a new After a long-running Agency of our work, and over the past two report and from the reports of my Jonathan Ellis
power for local campaign, the Government years we have run joint empty colleagues that we are entering an Chief Executive
authorities of announced that they would allow property events in London. exciting phase of our campaign on
compulsory leasing. local authorities to abolish the empty homes. What is noticeable is
After a wide-ranging council tax discount for empty Lloyds TSB Foundation gave us a that more and more people are
campaign including homes. For too long this had acted one-off grant to help fund some of talking about the potential of
support from RICS, the as an incentive for owners to keep our new work with Refugee empty homes. Yet with over
British Property their homes empty. The Community Housing Associations 700,000 empty homes in England,
Federation, Shelter and Government also agreed for local (RCHAs). We have developed a our challenge is to continue to
the Transport and authorities to have access to council close relationship with the Housing develop sustainable solutions that
General Workers’ tax data for their work on empty Association Charitable Trust (HACT), will turn this rhetoric into action
Union, amongst many properties. Two major successes! which has a long and distinguished with more empty homes being
others, the Government track record of supporting refugee brought back into use.
announced a public consultation As an independent organisation groups. The RCHAs do not own
on this proposal at our joint with charitable status, fund-raising property and one of their only
conference with the Social Market is always a challenge. But this year options of providing
Foundation. as our Chair has reported we have accommodation for their clients in
some excellent news. The by managing empty property. We
Then on 19th May 2004 the Community Fund has awarded us a have worked with some of them to
Housing Minister, Keith Hill MP, three-year grant to set up a provide assistance.
announced that the Government community project focussing on the
wanted to amend its own Housing problem of empty homes in areas Over the course of the year, our
Bill to include new powers for of low demand for housing. This Chair for the past three years,
empty dwelling management new project has allowed us, for the Maggie Jones, announced her
orders. This is a huge breakthrough first time, to open another office in decision to stand down. It has been
for our campaign and will offer Barnsley in the North of England. fantastic for the Agency to have
local authorities an invaluable quick someone of her quality as our Contact
enforcement power to bring long- The Office of the Deputy Prime Chair, and she has been such an Jonathan Ellis
term empty homes back into use. Minister also offered us a five-year asset to us. We are delighted that 020 7963 6883
Huge thanks must go out to our strategic grant to develop our she will still remain on our Board. jonathan.ellis@emptyhomes.com
wide coalition of supporters – it work, and the Housing Corporation Also Rosie May, our Local Authority

2 3
Local Authority Empty Property Charter

On 11th October 2004 the Agency launched a new report – “Unlocking

the potential of London’s empty homes” which highlights the excellent
work being undertaken by the boroughs in London.

Over the last few years, the Empty Homes Agency has worked with local
authorities across the country to bring empty homes back into use to
meet housing need. Based on this wide experience of existing good
practice, we have developed our Local Authority Empty Property Charter.
We firmly believe that if all local authorities gave active consideration to
all the points on the charter, we could bring even more empty homes back into use.

Local Authority Empty Property Charter

All Local Authorities should have
a A commitment to tackle empty property within the housing strategy with challenging targets for
getting properties back into use.

b A clear method of reporting empty properties

c A dedicated empty property officer

d A properly funded private housing assistance policy with the flexibility to offer grants to owners
of empty property.

e Publicity about “carrots and sticks” for empty property owners

f Regular communications and information for empty property owners

g A regular survey of empty property owners

h A private sector leasing scheme

i A joint multi agency approach to empty property work

j A private sector enforcement policy with a commitment if all else fails to using enforcement to bring
properties back into use.

For more details please call David Ireland or Shashi Ioannides for more information about the
Empty Property Charter on 020 7828 6288

5
Local Authority Project
Over the year we continued to offer
support to Local Authorities in their
work to bring more empty homes
back into use.
Local authorities were active in our
successful campaign for compulsory
leasing. In particular we are grateful
for the support offered to us by
Hammersmith and Fulham, Salford,
Sheffield and Southampton. The
empty property officers from these
authorities played a major role in
the development of our thinking on
this proposal. We were also active
in advising local authorities during
the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister’s (ODPM) consultation on
empty homes management orders.
We have delivered training courses
to South Ribble and Ribble Valley,
Chiltern and Richmond and have
worked with empty property
officers to establish corporate
empty property working groups.
We also actively supported Dudley,
Salford and Doncaster with the
launch of their new empty property
strategies. We also met with
Sandwell and Birmingham about
their empty property work.
A number of local authorities
contacted us in the year to help
them work on their empty Over the next year, our key focus
property strategies. will be on assisting local authorities
such that they can meet the aims
During the year, we took an active of our local authority empty
interest in the Planning and property charter.
Compulsory Purchase Bill and
worked with City of Westminster During the year, our Local
and local authorities in the East Government Adviser, Rosie May left
Midlands on this issue. us to be replaced by David Ireland
The Herts, Beds and Bucks Empty
Property Forum, the East Midlands
Empty Property Forum and North
East Branch of the Chartered
Institute of Environmental Health
invited us to speak on empty
homes management orders. We
were also invited to Kennet District
Council Landlords’ forum to discuss
‘Unlocking the Potential’ (the
ODPM guide that we helped to
write) and the Housing Renewal
Regulatory Reform Order, and to
the Surrey Chief Environmental
Health Officers Group to talk to
elected members about empty
property strategies.
We also continued to support local
authorities with the publication of
our regular empty property bulletin, Contact
and we made significant
David Ireland
improvements to the information 020 7828 6288
available to local authorities on
info@emptyhomes.com
our website.
7
London Project
The London Empty Property
Hotline, now in its seventh year of
operation provides a unique one-
stop-shop advice service to
London’s landlords and residents.
We are especially keen to hear from
people who know of a long term
empty home.
8 9
Working with the private sector as
well as the larger Housing
Associations and London boroughs
we are able to provide owners with
independent advice on all options
available to them. Many owners
contacting the Hotline directly are
interested in the rent guarantee
schemes offered in the public sector
as well as the grants and other
services available to them. This is
increasingly relevant due to the
instability in the buy to let market
across the capital.
In this sense the work of the
Hotline is as much preventive as it
is about tackling existing empty
properties. For the second year
running, the total number of empty
homes in London has remained
below 100, 000, which is the
lowest figure since the 1970s. To
date the Hotline has been
instrumental in returning over
4,500 units of housing to use
within the Greater London area,
helping approximately 7,000 people
in housing need.
Publicity and services provided by
the Hotline are largely shaped by
the London Empty Property Officers
Forum (LEPOF), which is
administered by the Agency and is
open to officers from the 33
London Boroughs. The Forum is
one of several regional forums in
existence across the country, which
helped shape Empty Homes Agency
developments and campaigns.
In October the Hotline teamed up
with the Housing and
Homelessness Unit at the Greater
London Authority (GLA) to co-host
the 3rd annual London empty
homes event, which also launched
the London Week of Action on
Empty Property. The launch event
raised the political profile of empty
houses by highlighting the work of
the London boroughs and
generating media attention. The
Agency is very grateful for the
continued support received from the
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
Last year we ran a series of adverts
on London buses. Our strong line
“empty property owners, do you
want guaranteed income and no Desmond Kilroy
hassle” worked a treat. We have London Project Manager
never before run such a successful
campaign and attracted many new
calls to our hotline. We ran a
similar advertising campaign on the
London Underground this year, and
again gained sponsorship from
several London Boroughs.
So our message to Londoners is
clear - if you own an empty
property or are concerned about
one, ring the hotline today
on 0870 901 6303
Contact
Desmond Kilroy
020 7963 6886/7
desmond.kilroy@emptyhomes.com
Low Demand Project
The Empty Homes Agency
announced on 5th April 2004, the
launch of its new Low Demand
project to support community
groups around the country. We
have secured three years’ funding
from the Community Fund and this
project will support communities
John Earnshaw and individuals dealing with the
Low Demand Project Manager impact of living with empty homes
in low demand areas.
I was appointed as the Low
Demand Project Manager in March
2004. I was previously Regional
Manager with H.O.M.E.S (National
Housing Mobility Scheme, and now
known as HEMS). Prior to that I
was Voids Project Manager with
Kirklees MDC, where I let over 500
difficult to let, low demand
properties in the Huddersfield area
or you might know it better as
Last of the Summer
Wine Country.
1
10
I have been very busy setting up National Conferences where John has spoken on his Low Demand Project in 2004 include:
this new project, to help
communities tackling the problem The Chartered Institute of Housing’s Annual Conference (Lovell Policy Platform) at Harrogate in June.
of empty homes in areas of low
demand. My main areas of
The TPAS Annual Conference at Birmingham, where he ran his ’Marketing Empty Homes and Low Demand
responsibility will be developing
Properties’ workshop in August and made contact with our European Social Housing colleagues from Austria.
policy, communications and media
work on low demand. I will also be
The CIH, New Homes, Building a Better Future Conference at Bournemouth in September, where he ran his workshop
responsible for developing EHA
- ’The advantages of bringing empty properties back into use’.
work on low demand with the
Market Renewal Pathfinders.
We have a full list of speaking engagements at national conferences in the months ahead.
In April, I did the second in a series
of three presentations, for
Housemark see
www.housemark.co.uk at their
Yorkshire & Humber Performance
Improvement Club at the Golden
Lion Hotel at Leeds. Subsequent
On 12th May I had my first ‘real’ I have made several other visits Don’t forget to visit the ‘new’ Low
good feedback from this event has
community group ‘action’ meeting to community groups in Burnley, Demand web page at:
meant that I have been invited to
with CANOPY Housing a Hull and Salford, with a view to www.emptyhomes.com
do a further presentation for
community housing project and helping them with their low
Housemark at their London Voids
other stakeholders, in Leeds. This demand problems.
Club later this year.
was his first attempt to bring
together all interested stakeholders Living in a community with low
Contact
with the aim of providing Canopy demand housing problems? – then
John Earnshaw
with more properties to further why not drop me a line to: 01226 390 093
their good work in Leeds. Empty Homes Agency PO Box john.earnshaw@emptyhomes.com
3609, Barnsley S75 1WW.
Registered Social Landlord Advisor Project
This year has been one of the most
successful years to date and in the
few months I have been here I
have had considerable help from a
wide spectrum of people involved
in all manner of new initiatives for
empty properties.
However my remit on being
seconded to the Agency was to
research all types of Private Sector
Leasing (PSL) models and bring to
together a report that would
outline how Registered Social
Landlords and Local Authorities,
which have never undertaken PSL
before, should proceed.
Here is a quick resumé of how
PSL works.
Under this arrangement a RSL or
housing association will lease a
property from an owner, pay a
guaranteed rent to the owner and
manage the property for the
12
duration of the lease. At the end of
the lease the property is handed
back to the owner, or the lease
renegotiated, and any damage -
other than normal wear-and-tear -
either rectified or compensated for.
The rent is usually fixed for the
period of the least but paid
regardless of whether the property
is empty at any time. This is a
suitable scheme then for property
owners who wish to keep up their
investment safer but do not want
to become landlords.
The local authority nominates
tenants for the property to the RSL
from its housing waiting list. The
property is let to a tenant on an
Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).
Rent is charged to the tenant and
the RSL keeps a percentage for the
management of the property and
any necessary preparatory work. It
then pays to the owner the lower
sum for the duration of the lease.
On a private sector leasing scheme
the RSL is likely to negotiate with
the owner a lease of between two
and five years. The property must
be in good order or some
preparatory work may be required.
The property should therefore be
watertight and weatherproof as the
owner is responsible for the
external maintenance of the
building for the duration of the. To
provide an effective handover the
property it is advisable that any
external repairs are completed prior
to the commencement of contract.
The property should also be in a
good state of internal decoration
although normal wear and tear will
be allowed for and therefore it is
inadvisable to fit new and/or
expensive carpets or fixtures and
fittings. However, these items
should have at least a three-year
life. The RSL will usually also ask
that there are no white goods at
the property. This then reduces
their liability for any repairs.
For more information please
see the RSL project page on
the website.
It has become evident through my
research and conversations with
RSL’s and LA’s that a number of
processes need to be fully
identified and all parties should
acknowledge the risks and
responsibilities, and that this
scheme is a long-term partnership.
It is essential that communications
between parties are dealt with and
systems are put place before the
scheme starts operation.
The Agency recently held its first
brainstorming event on the uses of
PSL, which I am pleased to say was
a major success and has produced
some excellent ideas and solutions
for the use of and funding of
empty/unused properties through
Private Sector Leasing.
With 28 people across a variety
posts and employers it was a
diverse group that went into the
event with no preconceptions of
what was to be discussed, in fact
none of the 4 groups required
any priming they all got stuck in!
For details of the report see the Paul Beard
RSL project page on the website. RSL Adviser
The Agency sees RSLs as key
partners in bringing empty homes
back into use. We are keen to
continue working with RSLs, the
National Housing Federation and
the Housing Corporation. Together
we can have a great impact.
Contact
Paul Beard
020 7963 6889
paul.beard@emptyhomes.com
13
Communications
Shashi Ioannides
Communications Manager
With the success of our
campaign agenda, it can
be tempting to want to
rest on your laurels,
however at the Agency
you just don’t get a
chance to do that.
Over the past year, the staff
team has changed
considerably and with it the
communications objectives.
With several new projects
and a much larger staff team
than we have had in the past
couple of years, the Agency
communications toolbox
needed some new additions.
Website
The implementation of the e-
newsletter to complement both the
ever changing website and the
already existing Empty Homes
Agency Bulletin, has worked
extremely well. On average we get
something between three and five
sign-ups every month to the
Agency communications
distribution
list. The
e-newsletter,
from January
to June 2004,
has generated
up to 3,500
visitors who
have accessed
on average a
total of
almost 15,000 pages. It was the
most successful tool in directing
traffic to the Agency website.
Since the re-launch of the Agency
website in March last year, the
links across the world have been
very successful, the most
noteworthy would be the help that
we have administered to the US
Vacant Property Campaign being
run by Alan Mallach, Director of
Research, National Housing
Institute in the USA.
Empty Homes
Agency Bulletin
The Empty Homes Agency Bulletin
has been going from strength to
strength, and from May 2004 we
have changed the Bulletin to
include contributions from
practitioners across the varied field
of empty property work.
The Bulletin now includes regular
features from empty property
officers dealing with various issues,
such as Compulsory Purchase or
Enforced Sale. It also has features
from other practitioners including
Void Doctor, Empro, and Brent
Community Housing to name a
few. The Bulletin still continues to
have regular briefings and updates
on changes in legislation and still
makes a valuable contribution to
the tools empty property
practitioners have at their disposal.
Low Demand Update
With the start of the new Low
Demand project, there was the
need to have a communications
tool specifically for this project. The
project manager John Earnshaw
used an email update to inform the
London office what was happening
up in the Northern office, because
of the early successes and the
general interest in the project, this
informal update led the way for the
Low Demand Update.
There have been now five editions
of the Low Demand Update on the
website, and it is proving a very
successful addition to the many
tools used by the Agency to
communicate with its stakeholders.
Events Communications
Last year the Agency ran a very
successful London Bus campaign,
where the London Property Hotline
was advertised around the capital
on various routes. It was so
successful, the Agency decided to
do it again, however this year we
used London Underground.
Five special sites were earmarked
for the ads: Finsbury Park, Bethnal
Green, Hammersmith, Vauxhall and
Victoria. It went live and ran
throughout the London Week Of
Action 2004. We secured
sponsorship from: London
Boroughs of Croydon, Camden,
Islington, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets,
Waltham Forest and from the
Mayor of London.
The London Week Of Action had
quite a few events going on,
including the launch of our brand
new publication “Unlocking the
potential of London’s empty
homes.” More details of this can be
found in the Local Authority
Empty Property Charter section.
We also held an event during that
week highlighting one of our good
practice case studies involving a
renovated Victorian building in
Croydon. Beaulieu Mansions had
been used for a variety of things
including, a hotel and an old
people’s home. Each of the purpose
built 11 flats and 6 semi-detached
houses, have been designed for
families that may grow or change,
and are unique as they use
different parts of the old mansion
and the surrounding grounds. The
tenants enjoy a very close-knit
community and a very good
relationship with their Housing
Manager Joanne Panton, it’s a
great model!
Future for the Agency
The next big thing for the
Agency… will be yet another
website overhaul, hopefully the last
one for a while. The annual website
review was so successful and
brought so many good ideas to the
table, that we thought we should
use them all. With the extension of
the team and its resources, the
website will be redesigned and re-
launched at the end of the year. So
look forward to a new look website
brimming to the edges of useful
resources for empty property
practitioners and members of the
community dealing with the
problems of empty property.
Contact
Shashi Ioannides
020 7963 6881
shashi.ioannides@emptyhomes.com
Good Practice Awards 2004
The Empty Homes Agency Good Practice Awards 2004, this year supported by ORBIS, celebrate
best practice in the field of empty property work and act as a spur to encourage more action to
bring empty homes back into use. The award winners are as follows:
The Agency award for the Most
Successful Empty Property
Strategy went to City Of
Westminster Council. Making the
strategy more comprehensive by
using the full range of options
available, has added value, and
allowed them to be more flexible in
their approach. In practice, this has
allowed the council to devise tailor
made solutions for owners, leaving
them more satisfied with the
service they provide.
Exeter City Council won the award
for Best Housing Association
Scheme for a scheme that created
10 homes and has housed 36 local
people on a site of 1.23 hectares,
which was previously a Grade II
listed building that was used as a
chapel and a church school. Within
the former playground, the derelict
outside toilet block was replaced
with a new bungalow whilst the
classrooms were converted into 9
houses with galleried sleeping
areas. The Scheme demonstrates
the potential for housing
associations to contribute to the
heritage around us.
The award for Most Innovative
Conversion Scheme went to
Adactus Housing Group Ltd and
involved The Housing Corporation,
Preston City Council and Architects
Britch. The project uses existing
housing stock in an innovative way
to turn something that is unpopular
into something that is desirable.
The Judges comment was that this
project was “Innovative…and
possibly an important replicable
‘model’ for tackling the very
pressing problem of low demand”.
The award for Most Innovative
Partnership Scheme went to
Brighton & Hove City Council,
involving Brighton Housing Trust,
Southdown Health NHS Trust, and
Brighton & Hove Primary Healthcare
Trust. This scheme evolved from an
original idea from Brighton Housing
Trust and Southdowns Health NHS
Trust. The ideal housing model did
not exist, they decided to see if and
how they could create a new
model. Putting the scheme
together involved the Housing
Trust, two healthcare providers and
numerous Council departments
working together. It has resulted in
an innovative accommodation
provision and the re-occupation of
two large long-term empty
properties in the City.
The winner of The London Empty
Property Hotline Award was the
London Borough of Brent. In
October 2000, it was identified as
being in need of attention through
the London Empty Homes Hotline
and was then referred to London
Borough of Brent. The Council’s
Empty Property Officer identified
the owners and worked with them
to secure planning permission to
convert the property, select a
Registered Social Landlord and
enter into a lease agreement with
them. A grant of around £500,000
was secured towards the total
project costs of around £1.5
million. The project, which
comprises 27 flats, has been
completed in April 2002. All the
flats are used for affordable
housing for the first 10 years with 6
remaining permanently as
affordable housing. This project
was unique of its kind and a whole
new challenge and experience for
the Empty Homes Team. The Judges
commented that the scheme was a
good example of “…bringing back
into use abandoned high street
accommodation in a commercial
environment.”
And The Francis Garrett Award
was warded to joint winners Martin
Bewick from Sunderland City
Council and Lisa Wilson from
Gateshead Council. Lisa and Martin
established the North East Empty
Property Forum to enable Empty
Property Practitioners in the area to
receive and distribute good practice
ideas, information on current and
up coming legislation and relevant
local knowledge. The forum also
gives the north a voice with regard
to empty property work and the
issues, which affect housing in the
region. Since its launch in February
2003 the forum has met on three
occasions. All members have
provided positive feedback and
have found the forum to be very
useful. The forum has successfully
covered the following subjects,
which has led to increased action in
reducing empty properties
throughout the North East.
Contact
Shashi Ioannides
020 7963 6881
shashi.ioannides@emptyhomes.com
Fnancial Report
Financial Report
Serge Lourie
Financial Report
The Management Committee
Financial Report
presents its report and accounts for
the year ended 31 December 2003. Serge Lourie
The Agency is registered under the
Industrial and Provident Societies
Act 1965 as a charitable housing
association and is governed by its
rules (registered number 27697R). It
is recognised by the Inland Revenue
as having charitable status
(Reference 150/3471/ACJ). The
registered office, where the Agency
is based, is 195/197 Victoria Street,
London SW1E 5NE.
The Agency uses the services of
the following organisation during
the year:
Auditor
Gotham Erskine
Friendly House
52-58 Tabernacle Street
London EC2A 4NJ
Banker
National Westminster Bank plc
169 Victoria Street
London SW1E 5Bt
Fund Manager
COIF Charities Deposit Fund
80 Cheapsie
London EC2V 6DZ
18
Review of the accounts
Serge Lourie Incoming Resources
The Agency has had a successful
12% financial year. The Agency made an
2% overall surplus of £12,548 on its
30%
5% unrestricted funds, which was in
line with budget. All assets are held
7%
to further the Agency’s charitable
objectives.
9%
17% The Agency’s major funders in 2003
9%
9% were the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation, Lloyds/TSB Foundation,
ODPM Joseph Rowntree Foundation Housing Corporation
the Bernard Sunley Charitable
GLA Lloyds/TSB Fees etc.
Bernard Sunley Charitable Trust Orbis Other income Foundation, Orbis, the Community
Fund, the Housing Corporation, the
Greater London Authority and the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Agency is reliant for its
operations on the generosity of
Resources Expended its funders.
Resources Expended
2%
Reserves Policy
8%
The Agency completed the year
13% with unrestricted reserves in the
Advisory work General Fund of £93,559 (2002 -
43%
Training and education £84,406). This represents a level of
Publications reserves above the three months
Management & administration
spending that the Management
Fundraising
Committee considers to be prudent
after allowing for time limited
34% projects. During 2004, it is
expected that the Agency will make
a small surplus and will end the
year with unrestricted reserves of
around three months spending.
Financial Control
Financial procedures are carried out
in accordance with financial
regulations approved by the
Management Committee from time
to time. These were last amended
on 3rd June 2003. During the year,
financial control of the Agency was
maintained by Mary-Anne Taylor,
who kept the books of account and Serge Louries
Serge Lourie FCA who acted as Financal Controller
financial controller preparing
monthly management accounts,
budgets, statutory accounts and
advising on major grant
applications. Management accounts
are regularly reviewed by the
Honorary Treasurer, Nick Hughes,
and the Chief Executive.
The Management Committee of
the Agency comprises senior
figures from the world of property
and social housing. The Agency Mary-Anne Taylor
also has an Executive Committee, Book Keeper
which ensures that there are
sufficient funds to plan the future
properly. The Agency maintains
bank accounts with the National
Westminster Bank plc and invests Contacts
its surplus funds with COIF Serge Lourie
Charity Funds. T: 020 7963 6888
E: serge.lourie@emptyhomes.com
Mary-Anne Taylor
T: 020 7828 6288
19
Special Thanks Publications

We would like to give Special Thanks to:

Funders Staff

Sunley Charitable Trust Catherine Akankwatsa

Community Fund
Paul Beard
(formerly the National Lottery
Charities Board) John Earnshaw

Housing Corporation Jonathan Ellis

Greater London Authority Shashi Ioannides

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Desmond Kilroy

Lloyds TSB Foundation Serge Lourie

Joseph Rowntree Foundation Joseph Okraku

Orbis Mary-Anne Taylor

Management Board Volunteers

Jim Battle Melika Pecori

Alan Collett Tyso Beak

Jon Fitzmaurice Valerie Chambon

Gareth Hall Kelly Russell

Nick Hughes Anna Theodorou

Maggie Jones Jill Adams

Alan Riddell Sheranga Senanayake

Jon Sawyer

Richard Tice

Jim Washington

Kevin Whittle For further information or to order any of the above publications please contact
the Agency’s Communications Manager, Shashi Ioannides on 020 7828 6288 or
shashi.ioannides@emptyhomes.com

20 21
Our Vision
The Empty Homes Agency was set
up in 1992 in response to the high
number of empty properties and the
crisis with homelessness -
something had to be done! In the
early days the Agency worked on
bringing individual empty properties
back into use and encouraged local
authorities to implement empty
property strategies.
Contact:
Head Office
Empty Homes Agency
195-197 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5NE
T: 020 7828 6288
F: 020 7828 7006
E: info@emptyhomes.com
Our Mission
The Agency as an independent
campaigning charity, aims to:
• Raise awareness about empty
properties in England
• Devise and promote
solutions to bring empty
properties back into use
We do this through campaigning
and providing advice and support.
Northern Office
Empty Homes Agency
PO Box 3609
Barnsley S75 1WW
T: 01226 390 093
F: 01226 390 093
M: 07719 798 033
E: john.earnshaw@emptyhomes.com