Retail Trade: Empty Property
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of High Street Rental Auctions in reducing retail vacancy rates.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh
The auction is the final stage of the High Street Rental Auction process which supports councils to reoccupy vacant commercial units. These powers were introduced in December 2024 and early adopter councils confirmed in March 2025. Since then, no council has reached the auction stage, but there are a number of councils that have reported closer engagement with landlords after designating the high street resulting in new lettings and sales of long term vacant units.
Since the powers were recently introduced, no specific assessment has yet been made, but the government is working closely with early adopter councils to support and monitor delivery.
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