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2026
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High Street Rental Auction Fund
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.
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.
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:
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
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
Applications open: 15 January 2025
Deadline for applications: 31 January 2026If 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.
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)
You can apply for funding to cover the cost of:
