PHOTO:ABIGAIL DOUGHERTY/STUFF Parnell, and elsewhere in New Zealand, there are plenty of buildings with ‘absentee landowners’.
OPINION: Almost every town centre has one. A rundown neglected building that has sat vacant for years. For local communities, these buildings represent a frustrating eyesore, a missed opportunity to recreate it into a business or a public space and ultimately a physical manifestation of economic decline if left to deteriorate.
For the landowner, it’s often a land banking opportunity. It’s in their best interest to keep the building empty, to avoid maintenance and upkeep costs and continue paying low rates on a diminished value – as a beautifully maintained, well tenanted property would attract a higher capital value.
It’s a stubborn problem seen throughout town centres caused by detached absentee landowners. Often based overseas, they’re differentiated from those landowners who are active and involved in the community.
Whilst most landowners demonstrate immense care for their properties (and tenants), this small group of landowners are not only physically, but emotionally, disconnected from the property they own and the impact that their persistent long-term vacancy has on the community. They don’t want the hassle of being a landlord so they let perfectly good properties sit vacant for a long time, and in turn, contribute negatively to urban blight in the area.
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