Guidance

High Street Rental Auctions Fund 2026 to 2028: prospectus

Updated 28 October 2026

Applies to England

The High Street Rental Auctions Fund provides up to £10 million of grant funding to help local authorities use High Street Rental Auction powers and tackle persistent high street vacancy.

Funding is available to support key stages of delivery, including vacancy registers, consumer market reports, property surveys and refurbishment works to bring eligible vacant premises up to a minimum letting standard.

The fund is designed to accelerate local implementation, bring empty properties back into use more quickly, and support thriving high streets and town centres.

Fund summary

Type of fund: Applications assessed on a rolling basis with early applications prioritised.

Eligibility: Local authorities with planning powers based in England

Funding available: Up to £10 million

Important dates:

• Applications open: Week commencing 23 November 2026

• Deadline for applications: 31 January 2028 (may close earlier if we allocate all funds before the deadline)

Introduction

The government has published Hope on the High Street, a new strategy for Britain’s high streets. The strategy is backed by a £210 million Community Assets Programme to support local communities in England to reimagine and revive their struggling high streets. This programme aims to tackle vacancy and dereliction, protect valued community assets, support co-operative development, and strengthen local capacity to create more resilient, mixed-use high streets.

As part of the Community Assets Programme, the government is making £10 million available to support councils in England to deliver High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs). HSRAs are power for local authorities to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties to new tenants. They allow local authorities to auction the lease of a commercial high street property that has been vacant for 366 days or more in a 24-month period.

Further guidance: For more information on implementing High Street Rental Auctions, including non-statutory guidance and supporting templates, see the High Street Rental Auctions: Non-statutory guidance. The government intends to update the guidance to reflect emerging delivery experience and support wider use of the powers.

The HSRA fund aims to:

• Enable councils to identify and bring forward suitable vacant commercial properties for auction through the development of robust evidence and property pipelines.

• Support councils to gather market intelligence, consumer demand data and property information to demonstrate local need, viability and the benefits of bringing vacant premises back into use.

• Fund the surveys, assessments and preparatory work required to understand refurbishment needs and enable effective implementation of HSRA powers.

• Support targeted refurbishment of properties subject to the High Street Rental Auction process, ensuring premises meet a minimum standard and are capable of attracting occupiers.

• Bring long-term vacant commercial premises back into active use, supporting local businesses, community uses and high street regeneration.

Applying for funding

Who can apply?

Funding is available to local authorities in England, including unitary authorities, and Mayoral Combined Authorities supporting councils within their area to deliver HSRAs, particularly where they hold relevant planning powers.

How to apply

Applications for the high street rental auctions fund will open from the 23 November 2026.

When the fund is live the application portal will be accessed via a link on this page.

Detailed application guidance will be also be made available.

What can you apply for?

You can apply for funding for eligible activity that supports the delivery of HSRA powers as described in the Local Authorities (Rental Auctions) (England) and Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

The activity must be delivered within a high street or town centre designated, or being considered for designation, in line with Part 10 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

Projects must be related to commercial high street premises that are, or may be, eligible for HSRA activity.

You can apply for funding under one or more of the strands set out in this prospectus, subject to meeting the relevant criteria. See Annex A for eligible and ineligible costs.

Refurbishment projects are limited to a maximum of 3 eligible premises per local authority, capped at £200,000 per refurbishment project.

All funded activity must be completed by 31 March 2028. We will not cover expenditure incurred before an eligible application is approved, unless this is expressly permitted.

Funding available

There is up to £10 million available, which we will award on a rolling basis. We will assess applications as we receive them. If your application meets the criteria for funding and funds are still available, we will send you a funding offer.

We’ve estimated the costs of works and services, which you should use as a guide:

• vacancy registers will cost approximately £3,000 to £8,000
• property condition surveys will cost approximately £1,000 to £3,000
• high street feasibility research, and consumer market approximately £3,000 to £8,000

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.

How applications will be assessed

You will only receive funding if your application passes eligibility checks and funding remains available.

We will check:

• that you are applying from a local authority with planning powers in England
• which funding strand you are applying under
• that the proposed activity supports HSRA delivery
• that your property has been vacant for 366 days in the last 2 years (for refurbishment projects)
• that you have provided the required evidence and delivery information
• that your costs are reasonable, evidenced and justified
• that the project can be delivered within the funding timescales

We may contact you to ask for more information to complete your application if needed.

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

What happens if your application is successful

If your application is successful, funding will be released up front to support delivery pace, however we reserve the right to pay to a different profile if this is necessary.

Funding will be issued using Section 31 grant powers and following agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding.

If successful, your local authority 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
• deliver projects in line with agreed plans
• deliver projects to timescales and budget
• take part in monitoring and evaluation
• provide monitoring returns and case study information where required

Local authorities are expected to:

• manage fraud risk in line with the Government Grants Functional Standard, including undertaking proportionate Fraud Risk Assessments and maintaining effective fraud prevention controls.
• undertake proportionate due diligence in line with the Government Grants Functional Standard, applying checks appropriate to the level of risk and maintaining effective due diligence policies and procedures.
• ensure funded activity complies with the Subsidy Control Act 2022, including identifying, recording and reporting any subsidies where required, and complying with relevant UK subsidy control guidance.
• comply with their own procurement rules and the Procurement Act 2023/Regulations 2024, ensuring that all funded procurement activity is proportionate, delivers value for money, and is subject to appropriate oversight and controls.
• comply with the Equality Act 2010

Monitoring and reporting

Successful applicants will be required to provide monitoring information to MHCLG. This will include updates on expenditure, delivery milestones, delivery metrics, risks, property status, occupancy outcomes and communications activity.

For refurbishment projects, local authorities may be required to provide regular monitoring returns to evidence progress, spend and planned communications activity to promote the project and its outcomes. Case studies may also be requested to demonstrate the impact of the funding.

The authority’s Section 151 officer (or an appointed deputy) will be required to certify reports to confirm their accuracy.

The data local authorities provide will be used for 3 purposes:

• oversight of the progress of the High Street Rental Auctions Fund to assure MHCLG, the Accountable Officer, Ministers and Parliament
• to support evaluation
• so MHCLG can inform relevant Ministers and government departments on the delivery and impact of the High Street Rental Auctions Fund as it relates to relevant policy areas

Progress metrics

We will ask you to report against one or more of the following metrics:

Metrics	Unit
Vacancy registers completed	Number
Consumer market/feasibility reports completed	Number
Property surveys completed	Number
Refurbishment projects completed	Number
Commercial floorspace refurbished	m²
Initial Letting Notices served	Number
Properties brought back into use	Number

Local authorities do not need to report on all indicators, only those relevant to the activity undertaken.

Further information

Further guidance on eligible costs is available at Annex A.

If your authority wishes to request new burdens funding to cover implementation costs for HSRA powers, you can find more information in the New burdens payments for high street rental auctions: prospectus.

If you have questions before applying, contact: HighStreetRentalAuctions@communities.gov.uk.

Annex A: Further guidance on eligible and ineligible costs

Stage 1: Designation and vacancy mapping

Funding can support local authorities to build the evidence base for HSRA delivery, including creating or updating high street or town centre vacancy registers and identifying priority vacant properties within designated or proposed designated areas.

We will cover costs to verify:

• property and agent details
• ownership
• how long commercial properties within a high street or town centre have been vacant
• property condition or other information needed to prioritise HSRA activity

Most vacancy register activity is expected to cost approximately £3,000 to £8,000 per area, although costs may vary depending on the scope and number of properties covered.

Stage 2: Feasibility and surveying services

Funding can support professional services activity that helps local authorities assess whether and how HSRA powers could be best used in designated^{[footnote 1]} high streets or town centre. This may include

• property condition surveys to identify works required to get the premises to a minimum condition
• high street feasibility research, and consumer market or local demand report evidence to support the local benefit condition

These activities should help local authorities understand whether a property is viable for HSRA intervention and what works or uses may be appropriate.

Applicants should retain evidence of quotes and provide a clear explanation to us of how the proposed professional services activity will support use of HSRA powers.

Stage 3: Refurbishment funding

Funding can support refurbishment is needed to meet the minimum letting standard.

Refurbishment projects are limited to a maximum of 3 eligible premises per local authority, capped at £200,000 per refurbishment project.

For refurbishment projects, we will not normally cover legal costs of:

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

Refurbishment funding is intended to support more advanced HSRA projects where a local authority has identified a specific long-term vacant property and can demonstrate delivery readiness.

We will cover costs to get the property to the minimum letting standard and, where relevant, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. Refurbishment funding should be used only for works required to make the property lettable through the HSRA process.

Works may include:

• stripping out the property
• minor repairs and compliance works
• removing asbestos
• installing or repairing a shop front
• utilities connections and essential safety requirements
• professional fees directly related to refurbishment delivery
• getting the necessary certifications

To apply for refurbishment funding, you should have already:

• served the initial letting notice on the landlord
• obtained an independent survey of works required to get the property to the minimum letting standard, including relevant regulatory and safety requirements
• obtained quotes for the fees and works involved in the refurbishment process or a costed independent survey of works (as above)
• have details of the designated high street or town centre and the property subject to HSRA activity
• have clear delivery milestones

Ineligible costs

• paid for lobbying, entertaining, petitioning or challenging decisions, which means using the Fund to lobby (via an external firm or in-house staff) in order to undertake activities intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, government or political activity including the receipt of funding; or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action
• payments for activities of a party political or exclusively religious nature
• VAT reclaimable from HMRC. Irrecoverable VAT is an eligible cost under the Pride in Place Impact Fund
• gifts, or payments for gifts or donations
• statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties
• payments for works or activities which the lead local authority, project deliverer, end beneficiary, or any member of their partnership has a statutory duty to undertake, or that are fully funded by other sources
• contingencies and contingent liabilities
• dividends
• bad debts, costs resulting from the deferral of payments to creditors, or winding up a company
• expenses in respect of litigation, unfair dismissal or other compensation
• costs incurred by individuals in setting up and contributing towards private pension schemes

Additional Information

Local authorities can continue to request new burdens funding of up to £5,223 to cover implementation costs for HSRA 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 HSRAs. The Department is reviewing the level and process for new burdens payments as implementation evidence develops.

Further details on any revised new burdens payment or process will be published in due course. Where the new burdens arrangements are updated alongside this fund, the relevant prospectus, guidance or application route will be updated accordingly.

More details are available in the New burdens prospectus.

1. Stage 2 funding Is limited to projects that are delivered within a designated high street or town centre, in line with Part 10 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. ↩