LGA calls for government action as number of empty homes in England rises by 10% in five years
The number of empty homes in England has risen by nearly 10% and past the million mark in the past five years, to the equivalent of just over 1% of the country’s housing stock, the Local Government Association (LGA) had claimed.
A report from the LGA and the Empty Homes Network found vacancies had increased across all definitions, types and tenures of empty homes and most exceeded levels seen in 2018.
More than one million properties across England in 2022 were unoccupied, equivalent to 4.01% of all dwellings, an increase of nearly 60,000 homes since 2018.
This had happened despite the introduction of an empty homes premium in 2013, which sought to encourage owners to bring empty properties back into use.
The LGA said some empty homes had deteriorated to the extent that they encouraged decline, but all represented a property removed from the housing market at a time of high demand.
This was driven by frozen Local Housing Allowance rates, the rising cost of living, closure of Afghan bridging hotels, wider asylum and resettlement pressures and an insufficient supply of affordable housing, it said.
Councils had more than one million people on housing waiting lists and 104,000 households living in temporary accommodation.
Darren Rodwell, LGA housing spokesperson and Labour leader of the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, said: “At a time when we face a chronic housing shortage across the country it is wrong for so many homes to be left empty.
“Councils work hard to address the issue, but the existing measures are clearly falling short.”
Cllr Rodwell urged the Government to enable councils to “resume their historic role as a major builder of affordable homes”.
He said ministers should implement the six-point action plan on housing issued by the LGA in July. This called for:
- Government support to set up a new national council housebuilding delivery taskforce.
- Continued access to preferential borrowing rates through the Public Works Loans Board to support the delivery of social housing.
- Allowing councils to permanently retain 100% of right-to-buy receipts towards building replacement homes.
- Increased grant levels per home through the Affordable Homes Programme, to cope with inflation in building costs
- Certainty on future rents to enable councils to invest.
Adam Cliff, secretary and policy lead for the Empty Homes Network, said: “At a time where the demand housing is so high, working to bring empty homes back into use can not only support meeting this need, but can encourage inward investment, improve communities and enhance the lives of those who currently live near empty homes.”
Mark Smulian
