Sarah Townsend,
Regen.net,
24 November 2009
The number of private homes standing empty for more than six months has risen above 300,000 for the first time in five years, according to new statistics.
The latest annual Halifax Empty Homes Survey shows there were 303,285 long-term empty private homes in April 2008, up nine per cent from 279,281 in April 2007.
It found that there was a clear geographical divide across England. The North-West had the highest number of empty homes (66,691), accounting for 22 per cent of the total, according to the survey. In the North-West and the North-East respectively 2.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent of all private homes are empty, while London, the South-East and the South-West had the lowest proportions of long-term empty private homes (all 1.1 per cent each).
The research also found that 15 of the 20 local authorities with the highest proportions of empty homes are among the 25 per cent in England with the highest levels of deprivation.
Suren Thiru, economist at Halifax, said: "In many cases, high levels of long-term empty homes reflect relatively high levels of deprivation, low average earnings and high unemployment."
The figures were released to coincide with National Empty Homes Week of Action, which runs from 22 to 28 November.
Campaigning charity the Empty Homes Agency (EHA) is calling on the Government to reduce the number of empty homes by redirecting unspent funding for house building to pay for: refurbishment of new homes; publishing an annual report on the number of empty homes owned by government; reducing VAT on the cost of renovation work; and supporting a programme of skills development so councils can help the owners of empty properties.
David Ireland, chief executive of the EHA, said: "If everybody in this country is going to be well housed we can’t just build new homes – we have to make use of the ones we already have. Getting an empty home back into use costs a fraction of the cost of building a new one, and we know that leaving homes empty costs the taxpayer billions of pounds a year."
For a link to the survey, click here.
