Derelict building owners warned rate relief to end

The council changed its policy last year meaning owners of neglected buildings need to pay rates

Owners of buildings that are not fit to live in have been told they will no longer be spared from paying rates.

Douglas Council has ended the allowance it had previously provided for uninhabitable properties.

The council said it had now issued rate demands for 60 properties in a bid to tackle vacant and neglected buildings in the capital.

Council Lead Devon Watson said the policy aimed to "alter incentives" when it came to vacant and neglected buildings, and to be fairer to everyone who paid rates in the city.

Watons said there were "plenty of buildings" that could be homes, businesses or community facilities but were "left to decay because no one's had to pay rates on them".

Under the new approach, the council would "create an incentive to either renovate the property or sell it to someone who will bring it into use".

Anyone who buys a currently uninhabitable building will receive a two-year exemption to give them time to renovate.

He said the council should be "encouraging people to invest in their properties."

"The goal is to establish a practice to get these properties redeveloped", Watson said, adding the alternative to bringing buildings back in to use was to build on green field sites or high-density areas.