10th
Oct 2023
Recent research finds in England there are around 676,000 homes currently remaining empty.
A property purchasing firm’s research measures the number of vacant homes across the country.
According to the studies England’s empty dwellings accounts for 2.7 per cent of the nations’ housing stock not being used which includes rental housing properties.
Top of the worst regions in the country for empty homes is the North East with 3.3 per cent currently empty, with joint runners up North West and Yorkshire and the Humber with 3.0 per cent of homes empty.
Investigating further, the research found Liverpool has the highest volume of rental housing stock remaining vacant, with 10,769 out of 229,863, equivalent to 4.7 per cent of all stock.
The North East can also boast as having the third and fourth worst areas for rental housing stock lying vacant with 4.4 per cent for both Blackpool and Burnley.
At one time there used to be an Empty Homes Programme across England providing funds to housing associations and councils to ensure empty homes are being brought back for housing.
Councils were able to fine owners for leaving properties vacant, and one example of this was the City of London who charged owners of empty properties with much higher council tax rates increasing on how long they remained vacant.
Greater London has the lowest percentage of housing stock lying empty with just 2.4 per cent of the total number of properties followed by the East of England, the South East and the South West, with just 2.5 per cent of their housing stock empty.
However what are classed as a Prime area the City of London district has a high proportion of homes remaining vacant with 4.5 per cent in spite of the council’s efforts with 351 empty out of 7,775.
The capital has the most areas with the highest value of empty homes with Kensington and Chelsea - 3,196 dwellings worth £4.3 billion. and Camden - 4,498 empty dwellings with a total value of £3.73 billion.
Birmingham has 13,251 empty homes worth £3.04 billion, whilst Leeds has 11,861 empty homes worth £2.85 billion.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of the property purchasing firm, says: “The UK has long struggled to supply enough properties for renters and aspiring buyers, and one factor that doesn’t help is that hundreds of thousands of homes are left picking up dust.
“The problem seems to be especially bad in the North, with Liverpool being one of the worst offenders, while some valuable areas of London are also not being properly utilised.
“To improve the issue of vacant properties the government could sink money into another empty homes scheme, or do more to tax those owners who fail to rent out or use their homes.
“It’s also fair to assume that with the continued high cost of living and borrowing, coupled with a cooling property market where prices are concerned, we could well see more properties become vacant as the nation’s landlords continue to exit the sector in order to balance their books.”
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