Housing charity Habitat for Humanity GB has released new research revealing that the number of vacant council properties is increasing, locking away thousands of potential homes
The report highlights that empty council properties in Wales are up by 44%, while England is up by 30% and Scotland is up by 18%. On a more granular scale, Sheffield has seen a whopping 500% increase in empty buildings since the last report was conducted in 2021.
In the same report, data from the government showed that there are currently 131,140 households in temporary accommodation, an expensive situation for the government.
In England, 175,000 privately owned non-residential buildings are empty, hiding the potential of 500,000 homes. Many of these are located near transport infrastructure and jobs, making it relatively easy to retrofit to create quality homes from these buildings.
Converting empty buildings to help solve the housing crisis
Turning empty buildings into homes is better for the environment than building new homes, as it requires far fewer materials. By proxy, this also means that many of these conversions would be cheaper for councils, and could potentially boost the economy through increased footfall in towns and town centres.
Henrietta Blackmore, national director of the Empty Homes Network for Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (HfHGB), said: “We know that empty buildings are only part of the answer to the housing crisis, but they should be an important part. Councils have full control over what they do with their assets, and must prioritise social homes.
“The budgetary pressures local authorities face are not helped by constant fire-fighting with scarce resources. Vulnerable people have better outcomes when they have access to safe, good quality accommodation. Providing that sort of housing now reduces the day-to-day costs that councils face tomorrow.
“Fixing the broader social issues we face as a nation means first ensuring we all have somewhere to call home.
“As our report shows, there exists a large number of buildings which could help us meet that mission. The fact we have empty buildings and a housing crisis isn’t new, but it’s time for all involved to grasp new ways of thinking and doing to boost the stock of social housing. That’s what today’s report sets out; practical steps that could be taken to address the overwhelming domestic challenge of our times.”
The full report is due to be released shortly, and can be registered for here.
Nearly a million empty homes in the UK
Last November, official data showed that there were, at the time, 998,784 empty or out-of-use homes, with 265,061 of these considered long-term.
At the same time, council housing supply only added 213,366, meaning there were more than four times the amount added in empty housing already.
Director of Action on Empty Homes, Rebecca Moore, argued to utilise these empty homes rather than build all new ones: “Every year we see more homeless families and more homes standing empty, this is why a new Government needs to make a change.
“We can’t keep on putting more families in unsuitable temporary accommodation for longer periods of time, whilst so many homes sit wasted. It’s particularly shocking to see big rises in London where so many homeless families originate.
“After more than a decade of intense housing crisis, people are asking how long-term empty homes in England can keep on rising, whilst 117,000 families and over 151,000 children are trapped in Temporary Accommodation, costing the nation TWO billion pounds a year.
“A new national empty homes programme is long overdue. What Action on Empty Homes, Crisis and Shelter are all calling for is a strategic and targeted approach to our national housing emergency to see homes brought into use to alleviate the worst impacts of homelessness FAST – government needs to respond adequately and offer funding and incentives to get these homes back into use because this will save public money and transform the lives of homeless families.
“Long-term empties are a missed opportunity to invest in and learn from retrofitting. Retrofitting empties is cheaper, faster and greener than building new homes, creating energy efficient homes, and building local skills.
“Action on Empty Homes calls on Government to introduce a new national empty homes programme to create additional housing supply for those in most housing need, utilising properties currently left vacant or in need of renovation.
“Homeless families can’t wait ten years and two terms of Government to see New Towns built, they need the housing they have been promised in their own communities now.”
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