Nationwide Building Society and Action on Empty Homes, a charity focused on the empty homes issue, are calling for the government to invest £185m to bring 15,000 empty homes back in to circulation.
According to data collected by Action on Empty Homes, the number of empty homes increased by 5.2 per cent in 2018, the largest annual rise since the rescission.
The increase last year represents 10,983 additional homes left empty and is up on the 2.6 per cent rise seen in 2017.
The firm adds that there are now more than 216,000 long term empty homes across England, equivalent to 72 per cent of the government’s annual new homes target.
Aylesbury Vale saw the greatest annual rise in empty homes up 221 per cent to 404 homes. This was followed by Portsmouth UA, which increased by 102 per cent to 939 empty homes.
Furthermore, the data shows that two thirds of England’s local authorities are experiencing a year-on-year rise, and more than one third are recording a rise of 10 per cent or higher.
Nationwide Building Society and Action on Empty Homes say that the increase in empty homes is accountable to the end of the coalition government’s empty homes programme and a recent slowdown in the housing market.
Nationwide chief executive Joe Garner says: “Concerted action and funding are needed from government and the housing sector to identify and tackle the growing issue of empty homes.
“There is no silver bullet to the housing shortage but alongside new housebuilding, empty homes can make a significant difference, these properties are often good quality and can be converted for a fairly modest cost.”
Action on Empty Homes director Will McMahon adds: “With homeless numbers at their highest levels in over a decade, it makes no sense to leave hundreds of thousands of homes standing long-term empty.
“The government must provide a solution for every street in Britain. Significant investment is needed to turn around communities that have faced under-investment for decades, and all local councils need new powers to take action.”
