Guidance

High Street Rental Auctions fund: prospectus

Published 5 December 2024

Applies to England

Fund summary

Purpose: To provide grants to local authorities that cover the cost of creating a high street commercial vacancy register and refurbishing properties (subject to a High Street Rental Auction) to the minimum letting standard.

Type of fund: Competed - early applications prioritised.

Eligibility: Local authorities with planning powers based in England.

Funding available: Up to £1.5 million available which we will award on a rolling basis within the application window.

Important dates:

Applications open: 15 January 2025

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2026 (may close earlier if we allocate all funds before the deadline)

Funding awarded: On a rolling basis, as soon as possible after successful application.

Introduction

High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs) are a new power for local authorities to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties to new tenants. They allow local authorities to auction the rental rights of a commercial high street property that has been vacant for 366 days or more in a 24-month period. 

The HSRA fund aims to support local authorities to use these new powers by funding the: 

• cost of producing a register of vacant commercial high street properties  
• refurbishment of vacant properties subject to a rental auction 

Fund objectives

The HSRA fund aims to: 

• reduce local vacancy rates in town centres and high streets by providing funding to identify properties eligible for a rental auction 
• support and empower local authorities to address vacancies on high streets and implement HSRA measures quickly
• promote minimum letting standard for high street commercial units 

Eligibility

To apply for this fund, your organisation must be a local authority with planning powers in England. 

You must be applying for funding to cover the cost of: 

• creating a high street or town centre vacancy register (per designated area) to verify properties eligible for a rental auction 
• refurbishing a single property subject to a HSRA – you can apply up to 3 times for 3 different HSRAs 

Refurbishment projects must have reached a certain stage when you apply for the fund. You should have already: 

• served the initial notice to the landlord 
• obtained an independent survey of works to get the property to a minimum letting standard (including the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard)
• obtained quotes for all the fees involved in the process 

You must expect your project to end and be able to pay all your costs by 31 March 2026.

Projects subject to funding must be delivered within a designated high street or town centre, in line with:

• Part 10 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
• The Local Authorities (Rental Auctions) (England) and Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Refurbishment projects must be based in a designated area with a vacancy rate (the percentage of vacant units) of 8% or higher.

You can outsource delivery, provided: 

• you own the legal delivery processes  
• you sign off each project stage 
• your local authority will not financially benefit from the work, in accordance with the subsidy control principles

Funding available

There is up to £1.5 million available which we will award on a rolling basis within the application window.  

We’ll assess applications as we receive them. If your application meets the criteria for funding and funds are still available, we’ll send you a funding offer.  

We’ve estimated that most vacancy registers will cost approximately £3,000 to £8,000, while most HSRA refurbishments can cost up to: 

• £40,000 for a property between 100 and 200 square metres
• £79,000 for a property between 201 and 300 square metres

Funding is not capped but is anticipated to be approximately £50,000 per property.

We will consider costs above these estimates but need to understand why your costs are higher.  

We encourage you to secure match funding from the landlord of the property for refurbishment projects, however this is not a requirement.

New burdens payment

Local authorities can request a new burdens payment of up to £5,223 to cover the cost of applying the new powers in line with the new burdens doctrine. The new burdens grant is a non-discretionary payment to offset the marketing, auction and legal costs incurred as a result of implementing the new powers.

More details are available in the New burdens payments for High Street Rental Auctions: prospectus.

Successful auctions - costs we’ll cover

Vacancy register costs

We’ll cover costs to outsource services to verify: 

• property and agent details 
• ownership 
• how long commercial properties within a designated area have been vacant (the vacancy term)

Refurbishment costs

We’ll cover costs to get the property to the minimum letting standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. 

Eligible costs include: 

• stripping out the property 
• minor repairs 
• removing asbestos 
• installing a new shop front  
• getting the necessary certifications 

Funding is not capped but is expected to be approximately £50,000 per property. Refurbishments may cost less if your property does not need extensive work to meet the minimum letting standard.

What costs are not covered

For refurbishment projects we will not cover the legal costs of:

• the contract for tenancy
• the tenancy agreement
• searches and conveyancing

You must reclaim these costs from the tenant.

Assessment criteria

Your application will either pass or fail each criterion. You’ll only receive funding if it passes each criterion. We may contact you to ask for more information to complete your application if needed and if funds are available.

We’ll only finalise the assessment of your application when we consider it complete. 

Before you start  

We’ll do an initial check to make sure your project meets our criteria for funding. You can only apply if you pass the eligibility check. For this, we’ll check: 

• that you’re applying from a local authority in England 
• that your property has been vacant for 366 days in the last 2 years (for refurbishment projects) 
• the vacancy rate in the designated high street or town centre is 8% or higher (for refurbishment projects)

Section 1: Name your application

This section is not assessed.

We’ll ask you to name your application to help you find it again if you save and return.

Section 2: About your organisation

This section is assessed.

We’ll use it to check that you’re a local authority with planning powers.

We’ll ask for:

• your local authority’s name and contact details
• your section 151 officer’s details

Section 3: About your project

We will ask you to questions relating to the project you are applying for.

For vacancy register projects

This section is assessed.

We’ll use it to check: 

• you have started or completed the process to designated high street or town centre (as described in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023)  
• your expected project milestones 

We’ll ask for: 

• the amount of funding you are applying for 
• a vacancy register quote so that we can verify overall project costs

For refurbishment projects

This section is assessed.

We’ll use it to check that:

• projects are based within a designated high street or town centre (as described in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023)
• the high street or town centre has a vacancy rate of 8% or higher
• the property has been vacant for 366 days or more in the past 24 months
• you have correctly notified the landlord
• the project will be delivered within the funding timescales
• project costs are used only to deliver the HSRA to the minimum standard (for refurbishment projects)
• your project costs are not excessively more than the guided costs and are justified

To do this, we’ll ask for:

• the location and size of the vacant property
• the initial HSRA notice you served the landlord
• the high street’s designation details and vacancy rate
• an independent survey of works
• quotes for the refurbishment works
• expected project milestones

Section 4: Declaration

This section is not assessed.

We’ll ask you to declare that all information is correct.

Timeline

Applications open: 15 January 2025

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2026

If we allocate all funds before this date, we’ll close applications early. In this case, we’ll still assess any applications we’ve already received, and those that meet the assessment criteria will go on a reserve list.

Funding awarded: on a rolling basis as soon as possible after successful application.

Delivery of your project must be complete by 31 March 2026 and you must have paid all your costs by this date. We expect projects to take a minimum of 4 months to complete.

Roles and responsibilities

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will:

• assess bids against the assessment criteria 
• notify bidders of funding decisions  
• provide funding as agreed in the grant funding agreement 
• establish and undertake monitoring and evaluation

If successful, you must:

• provide evidence of costs, when requested 
• put in place delivery processes  
• oversee delivery and contractors 
• be accountable for delivery 
• procure appropriate service providers and ensure they satisfy due diligence checks 
• cooperate with due diligence checks 
• sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 
• deliver bids in line with agreed plans 
• deliver bids to timescales and budget 
• take part in monitoring and evaluation 
• comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022
• comply with the Equality Act 2010
• be responsible for providing the scheme in accordance with the UK’s international obligations in respect of subsidies

Apply for funding

Applications for the High Street Rental Auctions fund will open on 15 January 2025. We will update this page with information on how to apply in due course