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This was the second year we had run this Award category, thanks to sponsorship from Homesmatch. As Homesmatch specialise in transforming properties – not just empty ones but occupied ones too  – there was a natural fit with their business model. Contributing to the Conference Brochure, Cath Whelan, MD of Homesmatch, wrote

The Empty Homes Awards were presented at the 2018 Conference in Birmingham on 18th October, and we'll be recognising the various award winners in news items over the next few days. 

First up are the winners of the Empty Homes Practitioner of the Year Award, sponsored by Kent No Use Empty.

There were two winner this year and we think they each deserve their own story. Today, we are recognising the achievement of Sue Li.

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Following our announcement of E.ON’s Awards sponsorship (see our story ‘E.ON launches Empty Homes Awards season’) the company has provided more details of its new partnership project to tackle empty homes..

Most people will probably be familiar with E.ON as an Energy supplier, but it is proving itself to be much more than that. E.ON describes itself as

We are pleased to announce that Orbis Protect is sponsoring a new ‘Rising Star’ Award as part of this year’s Empty Homes Awards. This award is intended to recognise and reward emerging empty homes practitioners who have made significant contributions over a short period of time.

Louis Fordham, Orbis Protect - Business Development Director for the Social Housing Sector, said:

Can you help production company Two Four source interesting empty homes projects to highlight in a forthcoming series for the BBC?

Based on what we know so far, this is an excellent opportunity to highlight the contribution that empty homes practitioners make or to reveal issues we face.

Over to Vicki Pratt of Two Four:

The campaigning charity Empty Homes (previously the Empty Homes Agency and soon to be 'Action on Empty Homes') has initiated a major new 'Campaign for Community Investment' that lobbies for capital investment in areas with higher numbers of empty homes.

The House of Lords has inserted an amendment into the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill that introduces an escalator into the amount of Empty Homes Premium payable according to how long a dwelling has been empty.  The amendment was supported by the government which suggests that it will be accepted in the Commons.

The government has launched a £163 million fund to support community-led affordable housing. The scheme is being administered by Homes England (the successor to the Homes and Communities Agency) and bids are invited under a 'continuous market engagement' process that will continue until all the money has been allocated or December 2019, whichever comes first.

Crucially, the Prospectus makes it clear that the scheme is available for conversions and refurbishment: