Local Authorities are increasingly recognising the value of property inspection tools for tracking new developments, verifying the status of empty properties and confirming that current exemptions and discounts are still valid. In the last year alone we have seen a significant increase in Local Authority clients signing up to use Property Inspection solutions and we believe a number of factors are driving this.
First and foremost there is greater awareness that these types of solutions help recognise additional revenue more quickly in areas like earlier issuing of completion notices and quicker identification of properties no longer valid for discounts and exemptions.
New guidance on premiums
Building on this however, are the implications of new guidance made this year on the implementation of council tax premiums on long term empty homes and second homes. This provides an opportunity for even more value to be derived from implementing a coherent property inspection solution.
With the council tax premium being strengthened so that properties that have been sitting empty for one or more years can be charged, it is imperative that Councils have a mechanism in place to be able to effectively track these properties and capitalise on it.
Properties on sale for over a year
It is also worth noting that if a property has been up for sale for a period of one year or more then they too can effectively start being charged council tax again after this period. A property inspection solution which can capture this type of information and proactively flag it to councils will again add significant value and help drive additional revenue that may have gone unnoticed for a period of time.
Budgeting & forecasting capabilities
It is not just Revenue and Inspection teams who benefit from having a property inspection solution in place, but Finance and Exchequer teams as well. The right inspection solution should effectively act as single source of truth as to the status of all new property developments within a Local Authority and provide projections of when completion notices will come into effect. It should be a key tool used to assist with forecasting revenue for the year ahead for both commercial and domestic properties, helping finance teams to accurately identify what kind of growth they can expect and when that additional revenue is going to kick-in.
By tracking the progress of building developments, estimating the completion date and value, and then the likely period when they will enter the respective list, it then becomes a tool for multi-year growth forecasts for medium term financial strategy (MTFS) purposes.
The more accurate finance teams can be in forecasting revenue in areas such as new developments and likely additional income from long term empty properties and second homes, the more data driven and accurate an approach can be taken to budget build.
We expect to see the trend for investment in this type of solution to continue in the year ahead as Councils effectively now have a mechanism in place for measuring a return on investment and can support Finance teams with budgetary and forecasting information.
If you want to find out more about our Aspire Property Inspection solution and what it can deliver for you and your finance teams, contact us now for more details and to organise a demo.
