Haringey is a popular part of London with some fantastic areas and plenty to offer. For example, it is home to cultural spots like Alexandra Palace & Park, Arthouse Cinema, and a number of museums. There are also great locations for housing, from family friendly spots to creative enclaves. All of this means countless people are drawn to property investment in Haringey.

While it is a desirable area, recent data shows the borough has a big issue at the moment with empty homes. This comes at a time when the local authority has a waiting list with approximately 10,000 households on it. There are fears that as many as 90% of them will never receive social rent housing.

The data

According to the figures, in May this year Haringey had 1,616 empty homes. Of these, the majority were in the hands of private owners (1,588). However, 28 were council properties.

Unfortunately, a number of these properties have been vacant for a long time. Most shockingly, 3 had been empty for 20 years or longer. Below that, 20 were unoccupied for between 11 and 19 years. In addition 30 homes had been empty for 7 years, 32 for 4 years, and 112 for 3 years.

The largest number of vacancies was properties that had been vacant for a year. This total was 872. Then, 263 were empty for 2 years. Finally, 164 were unoccupied for less than a year.

If you look at council properties, the story is quite similar. The highest number of empty properties is those that have been vacant for a year (13). Then, 3 have been unoccupied for less than a year. At the other end, 6 properties have had no tenants for 2 years, 4 for 3 years, and 1 for 4 years. Finally, a single property has been empty for seven years.

The issues

All these vacant properties highlight a number of different issues. For example, some private buyers will choose property investment in Haringey and don’t ever plan on finding tenants. Others seem to struggle to find the right ones or have to deal with voids for a year or two.

Long term empty properties can remain vacant for several reasons. Most common is issues financing repairs and upgrades. Council homes can remain vacant for a few years because of slow turnaround with repairs. The local authority in Haringey has already invested £2.7m to improve this, but there is more work to do to increase the capacity.

Council powers

It is surprising that so many private homes remain empty even with Haringey Council exercising their powers.

One thing they do here is increase the rate of council tax in line with the length of time properties have been empty. After two years the tax rate doubles. Then, after five years it is triple. Finally, after 10 years the rate is five times the standard amount.

Sadly, higher council tax rates don’t seem to have had the desired impact in the majority of cases. In fact, there has been a massive increase in payments to the council since 2016/2017. The total in that year was £79,713. It hit a peak of £452,907 in 2021/2022.

Haringey Council also has the power to use compulsory purchase orders. The CPOs enforce sales, meaning the current owner has to sell to the local authority. They can then renovate the property and bring it back to use. However, it can be costly to do this. There is also a challenge in actually identifying the owners of some properties.

Do you need help with property investment in Haringey?

At Finefair Ltd we know about the challenges people face when it comes to investing in properties. There is a lot to think about, from maintaining the property to finding tenants. Plus there are obligations for things like safety, insurance, and more. It can quickly overwhelm some people.

Luckily, we are here to help. Our goal is to offer the finest selection of services. They can include help with purchases, conversions, management, leasing, and more. We also provide the best guaranteed rent in London.

So, talk to us today about property investment in Haringey or other parts of the city. It would be our pleasure to help.