Almost a quarter of a million properties in England have been left empty for months, according to new analysis seen by the Observer, prompting calls for many of them to be used to ease the escalating homelessness crisis.
The number of properties deemed as long-term empty has increased by 24% over the past six years. Housing experts said tens of thousands could be repurposed as affordable homes if politicians took stronger action. There is now a record number of households trapped in temporary accommodation, while social housing waiting lists top 1.2 million. Properties are generally deemed to be long-term empty after being unoccupied and unfurnished for at least six months, while the owners continue to owe council tax.
The numbers of such houses hit record lows in 2016, when a government programme saw the number of empty properties fall to just above 200,000. That scheme, the Empty Homes Programme, closed in 2015.
While the number of empty properties has dropped slightly since the pandemic, it still remained stubbornly high, at 248,000, at the end of last year. The number of long-term empty properties has increased in every single English region over the past six years, according to research by the charity Crisis. There has been a rise of 73% over that period in London. It now has more than 34,000 empty properties. The east of England, south-east and the West Midlands have seen numbers increase by a third. The north-east bears the highest amount of long-term empty properties as a proportion of their total dwelling stock. For every 100 properties, more than 1.4 sit unoccupied. It comes as residential rents in England increase at the fastest annual rate on record. According to Office for National Statistics data, private rents rose by 5.5% annually in August.
Crisis estimated that if local authorities could turn more long-term empty properties around, up to 40,000 additional homes could be used to help tackle homelessness by 2028. It said 242,000 households in England are experiencing homelessness issues, from sleeping on streets or sofa surfing to living in unsuitable temporary accommodation. It blames the rising cost of living, soaring rents and destitution, combined with a housing shortage.
Charities are now hearing regular horror stories from vulnerable people in poor housing conditions. Joey, a student in his 30s and living in Birmingham, is currently in temporary accommodation. He said he had previously found himself in dangerous supported accommodation after leaving a young offenders institution. He was once left to clean up blood after a stabbing. Fungi and maggots grew out of the floorboards. Later, in a different house, he faced a wrongful eviction until the housing regulator stepped in. “It’s extremely stressful,” he said. “Looking back now, it was more stressful than prison.”
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Enabling councils to turn empty properties into genuinely affordable homes is a quick way for the government to alleviate pressure on a system at breaking point and provide stable homes for people. But this isn’t a silver bullet. We also need to see greater investment in housing benefit so people can pay their rent, and a national drive to build the 90,000 social homes we desperately need.”
Chris Bailey, campaign manager for the Action on Empty Homes charity, said the new research was the “tip of the emptiness iceberg” because the figures only covered the empty properties that were known about. “It’s a disgrace that we’ve seen the numbers keep climbing in lockstep with rising homelessness and housing shortages,” he said. “Many end up sold at auction, often after long periods of emptiness and decay, to landlords operating a low-investment model. A better use would be to buy these and retrofit them as social and genuinely affordable housing for those in most housing need. We are calling for a new national Empty Homes Programme with funding devolved to local councils.”
A government spokesperson said: “We recently laid out an ambitious long-term plan for housing and are on track to deliver a million homes this parliament. We have also reduced the number of long-term empty homes by more than 50,000 since 2010. Councils already have powers to bring empty properties back into use and we are clear they should be using them to deliver new homes for communities. They can increase council tax by up to 300% on long-term empty properties, take over empty homes by compulsory purchase orders and empty dwelling management orders, and convert commercial buildings to residential without the need for a full planning application.”
