Empty, run down properties

North Devon Council did not have the information requested.

GAYNOR WILLIAMS

Dear North Devon Council,

I am hunting for houses that have been empty or abandoned for some time, as I have a property business with solutions to these problems.

Yours faithfully,

GAYNOR WILLIAMS

Legal Services, North Devon Council

Dear Ms Williams

Thank you for your request received earlier this afternoon, for which I acknowledge receipt. Please continue to e-mail any future requests directly to this mailbox.

Your request is now being dealt with in accordance with the Act and will be processed and responded to no later than 4 July, in accordance with the statutory time limit.

The Council has an adopted charging policy for dealing with requests for information under FOIA and EIR, which is published on the Council's website, however I will write to you in advance should the processing of your request require a fee, or if we should require further any information/clarification from you.

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator – FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

show quoted sections

Legal Services, North Devon Council

Dear Ms Williams

I write in response to your request for information received yesterday, in which you requested the details of houses that have been empty or abandoned for some time.

Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform you whether it holds information of the description specified in your request. I confirm that the Council's Revenues department does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) I am unfortunately unable to supply you with this information.

Having considered your request following discussions with the Revenues department, the information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with Section 31(1)(a) of the Act, as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. The Council accepts that the perceived prejudice must be "real, actual or of substance" and not trivial or insignificant and that there must be some causal relationship between the potential disclosure and the stated prejudice. In this case, the decision is that such prejudice does exist.

A decision of the Information Tribunal Mr Yiannis Voyias v IC 22 January 2013 is relevant to this; below is a link to the decision of the First Tier Tribunal is as follows: http://informationrights.decisions.tribu...

If the Council were to release the requested information then those empty properties would become more vulnerable to crime. The crimes associated with empty properties include squatting, criminal damage, theft including organised 'fixture stripping' of premises (particularly to remove metal), arson, drug dealing, prostitution and fraud.

In addition, section 43(2) of FOIA states: “Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).” Disclosing information which revealed which dwellings were vacant would, by increasing the risk of crime connected with those dwellings, risk damage to the commercial interests of the property owner, and also of the tenants and owners of neighbouring properties. The disclosure could also result in potential legal action being taken against the Council by property owners who had experienced crime and damage to their homes as a result of the information being released into the public domain.

Any incidence of crime will have potentially serious cost implications for the empty property owners and also those who live in the vicinity, including increased insurance premiums. Furthermore, crime can cause an emotional impact both on those who are direct victims, and on those who feel less secure due to an increase in the crime rate near where they live or work or where their children go to school.

Revenues also advise that the details they hold regarding houses that are empty are held for the purposes of the collection of Council Tax and its associated administration. They may only lawfully disclose information to other public sector agencies to:

- prevent or detect benefit fraud and other crime
- to support national fraud initiatives
- to protect public funds

They may only use basic information about ratepayers of empty homes in other areas of service provision if it:

- helps those ratepayers to access Council services more easily
- promotes the more efficient and cost-effective delivery of services
- helps the Council to recover monies that it is owed by ratepayers

The Council does not consider that the release of the requested information to you would fall into any of the above categories and those ratepayers would have no reasonable expectation for their information to be made publicly available, as a release of the information to you would be considered as a release to the world at large. Not every person has a genuine reasons for requesting such information and it would not take long before the information fell into the hands of persons who intend to find those empty properties to squat, cause criminal damage, steal fixtures and fittings, damage, deal drugs etc.

For these reasons, the Council considers that there is an inherent public interest in crime prevention and therefore the possibility of crime resulting from disclosure is sufficient for the Council to favour the withholding of the requested information on this occasion.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to request an internal review which should be received within two months from the date of the response letter and should be sent to;

Head of Corporate & Community
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510
Email: [email address]

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator, FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

show quoted sections