High Street Rental Auctions – non-statutory guidance published by the Government

The Government’s new legislation in relation to High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs) came into force on 2 December 2024. Following this, the Government has now published its non-statutory guidance on how the HSRA process will work.

The aim of this legislation is to grant local authorities the power to tackle the issue of persistently vacant high streets, by obliging landlords to put their properties up for auction. We discussed the legislation and which properties will be affected in more detail in one of our recent articles, which you can find here.

Key takeaways from the guidance

The newly published guidance outlines some key points on how the HSRA process will take place. Key takeaways from the guidance are:

• A flow chart of the intended HSRA process has been included in the guidance, which outlines the process which local authorities will follow. This is a useful tool for landlords to familiarise themselves with the process
• The overall process is intended to take between 22 to 24 weeks from start to finish
• Local authorities must work proactively with landlords to bring properties back into useful occupation
• It is a criminal offence for a landlord not to respond to requests for information about premises made by a local authority without reasonable excuse, or to provide false information to such requests
• Tenancies which are entered into as a result of the HSRA process will have a minimum term of 1 year, and a maximum term of 5 years
• If a property which has an EPC rating of F or G is let out under the HSRA process, landlords will be required to carry out additional works to their premises such that their property has a rating of E or higher to remain in compliance with the Government’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards
• To ensure that the pressure on local authorities’’ budgets are kept to a minimum, funding is being made available from the Government in the form of a “New Burdens Payment” which are used when new or amended legislation is assessed to have a financial burden on local authorities. The “New Burdens Payment” will compensate local authorities for costs incurred in the implementation of these new powers during a 3-year transition period.

The full guidance document can be found here. It is important to note that this guidance is non-statutory, meaning that there is no guarantee it accurately reflects the legislation or can be relied upon.

High Street Rental Auction “early adopters” and “critical friends”

Bassetlaw, Darlington and Mansfield councils have become “early-adopters” of the scheme, and  Blackpool and Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Councils have become “critical friends” of the scheme.

These councils will not receive extra government funding to engage with the scheme, but rather they have agreed to commit to using the scheme as early as possible, so we may see the first implementations of the HSRA scheme in these areas.

Conclusion

It is important that landlords with relevant vacant properties familiarise themselves with this guidance, as it is a somewhat complex process, which could result in landlords losing some control over their premises.

If you have any questions in relation to the HSRA process, or think that you property might be affected, please contact either Alisa Sweeney or Oliver Butler, who will be able to assist you.