National Association of Empty Property Practitioners

What is NAEPP?

The National Association of Empty Property Practitioners was established in May 2001 to support people involved in delivering empty property strategies. It was launched by empty property practitioners with the support of government ministers, the Housing Corporation and the Empty Homes Agency.

Who are “Empty Property Practitioners”?

You don’t have to be a dedicated Empty Homes or Empty Property Officer to belong to NAEPP. A high proportion of our local authority members are either Housing Enabling / Housing Strategy Officers or Private Sector Environmental Health Officers, depending on who leads on empty property work. We also have members who work for Registered Social Landlords and regeneration partnerships etc. The main criterion is that you are involved in tackling empty property as a part of your job.

The Aims of NAEPP

NAEPP’S constitution defines the aims of the organisation as follows:

• To promote unity and understanding amongst Empty Property Practitioners.
• To raise the status and profile of Empty Property Practitioners.
• To promote the role of Empty Property Practitioners.
• To promote the development of professional standards through training and dissemination of good practice.
• To promote policies and practices which offer effective responses to the challenges presented by Empty Property
• To share information, skills and experience with other organisations and individuals in the furtherance of the foregoing aims

Types of Membership

Corporate Membership is for organisations and involves an annual fee. Associate Membership is currently free to allow as many practitioners as possible to participate in NAEPP. But we do encourage Individual Members to ensure their employer takes out a Corporate Membership.

Benefits of Corporate Membership

The benefits of Corporate Membership are enjoyed by all the employees of the sponsoring organisation, who

• can benefit from discounts on the NAEPP Conference and any NAEPP-sponsored training events
• have access to the entire Information Library and any other services restricted to Corporate Members
• have full voting rights on all issues (one vote per paid-up membership)

Full corporate membership ensures that NAEPP will be able to deliver the maximum benefit to all members. NAEPP cannot easily develop resources such as this website without the financial backing that corporate membership brings.

If you work for a local authority, Corporate Membership also identifies your local authority as being actively involved in empty property work. Following the Select Committee Report on Empty Homes (2002) it is clear that tackling empty homes remains an important government priority: corporate membership of NAEPP illustrates your authority’s commitment to having an effective empty property strategy by equipping your staff with the best resources available.

Free Associate Membership

This allows you to access the forums and other selected material on this website. Associate members can participate in the affairs of NAEPP eg feeding into NAEPP consultation responses. They can attend NAEPP meetings, such as open Executive Committee meetings and special meetings to discuss particular policy issues. However Associate Members can't vote in NAEPP democratic processes and can't access the Information Library (except for a few publicly-accessible documents). Other restrictions or rules might be introduced at a later date.

If you attend a regional or area Empty Property Forum, you should belong to NAEPP: NAEPP is as close as we can reasonably hope to get to having a National Empty Property Forum.

Some NAEPP successes to date

Best Value Performance Indicator 64

In a an example of exceptional partnership working between practitioners and central government, the NAEPP Guidelines on Best Value Performance Indicator 64 have been officially endorsed by the ODPM. This illustrates the government’s commitment to listening to practitioners on the ground. Participation in NAEPP gives local authorities the opportunity to shape the environment in which they work.

Access to Council Tax Data

NAEPP wrote to the government whilst the Local Government Bill 2003 was going through parliament requesting a clause allowing practitioners access to Council Tax data for the purposes of furthering their Empty Homes Strategies. The relevant clauses allowing access to Council Tax data were then added to the Bill. A key official wrote “I thought I would convey my thanks to you for getting the ball rolling on this. Your letter in response to the draft bill really sparked off a lively debate at ODPM!”.

NAEPP will continue to develop a policy agenda aimed at helping local authorities bring more empty properties back into use. Your involvement in NAEPP will help you shape that agenda.

Other NAEPP initiatives

Empty Dwelling Management Orders (compulsory leasing). NAEPP member representation has been crucial in lobbying for new tools for practitioners, and in contributing to the ongoing development of both concept and new legislation.

How does NAEPP work?

NAEPP is a small organisation. Empty Property Practitioners are a select bunch! Legally, it is an unincorporated association like most clubs or membership organisations of its size. Currently, it has no paid employees and relies on the commitment of its members to be effective. We rely on e-mails and now this website for communication. The Executive Committee and Officers are elected at an Annual General Meeting or are co-opted by existing Exec members. These positions are of course unpaid.

Most employers recognise the value of NAEPP and allow their staff to spend at least some work time on NAEPP activities. But officers and executive members have to sacrifice some of their own time too. Don't take them for granted! There is no formal federal structure but we try and ensure strong links between the Executive and the membership by encouraging regional forums to have representatives on the Executive.

The Executive Committee meets about quarterly, normally in London (although it also works by e-mail in between meetings). If you want to help run NAEPP eg by becoming involved in the Executive, by helping draft Consultation Responses or by helping organise meetings etc. then please let us know. Your input will be welcome.

You can apply to join NAEPP here - or contact us for further information.