The decision to remove council tax exemption for empty homes has helped generate £777,000 of extra revenue for Birmingham City Council.
The empty property premium also helped the council bring 1,400 privately owned properties back into use. As a result, the council will receive an additional £1.8m from government, included in the overall New Homes Bonus of £4.6m in 2014-15.
Leader of Birmingham City Council, Sir Albert Bore, said: ‘The council’s dedicated Empty Property Team exceeded the 2007-12 target by bringing 1,400 privately owned empty properties into use through advice, encouragement and intervention where necessary.
‘However we would welcome more initiatives to encourage building societies and banks who hold mortgages on empty properties to support these schemes.’
