EXCLUSIVE Interactive map reveals the towns where up to 3% of homes are empty
Labour was today urged to tackle the scourge of empty homes to tackle Britain's housing crisis.
Across England as a whole, almost 265,000 dwellings are long-term vacant.
Yet, in parts of the country, close to 3 per cent of homes are empty, MailOnline can reveal.
Housing experts say converting the legion of vacant dwellings would help ease the shortage, which has priced millions out of owning their own homes and made rents rocket.
Sir Keir Starmer 's government has promised to build 1.5million homes by the end of this parliament under their 'bulldozer blitz'.
Critics have accused them on waging war on rural England, concerned that swathes of Green Belt land will be concreted over.
Yet ministers are on course to miss the target, sparking calls for them to instead turn their attention to the £70billion catalogue of abandoned properties.
This would help thousands of families who are trying to find an affordable home to rent or buy, and help tackle the soaring numbers in temporary accommodation, experts say.
Francesca Albanese, of homelessness charity Crisis, said: 'Homelessness is rising across England, with record numbers of households stuck in temporary accommodation including a staggering 160,000 children.
'This is trapping people in poverty, as well as causing damage to their health and wellbeing.
'Meanwhile, there are thousands of vacant properties standing empty that could be repurposed as genuinely affordable homes.
'The sticking point is that there's currently no incentive to encourage councils, who are already struggling financially, to bring empty properties and other unused buildings into use to tackle homelessness.'
Chris Bailey, for the campaign group Action on Empty Homes, believes councils need more powers, staff and financial resources to sort out the problem.
He said: 'Long-term empty homes matter because the worst impacts of our housing crisis, while both shocking and potentially deadly, involve relatively small numbers of families (around 120,000) costing taxpayers billions in Temporary Accommodation costs.
'Empty homes could cut this bill if utilised.'
The group argues that getting empty properties back in circulation is better than building new homes as it saves on land and avoids wasting carbon, helping to combat climate change.
However many of the long-term vacant homes are old, in need of investment and are nowhere near ready to be lived in.
Homes can also sit empty for other reasons. For instance, there may be a feud within a family after an owner has died because one relative doesn't want another to benefit from any sale.
Councils already have extensive tools to bring empty homes back into use.
They can charge anywhere between 50 per cent to 300 per cent extra on council tax bills for homes left empty for more than two years.
Local authorities can get funding through the Affordable Homes Programme to help bring homes back into use. As a last resort, councils can use a Compulsory Purchase Order to buy a property without the owner's permission.
One home in the village of Horden in County Durham had a fake door plastered on its frontage alongside a boarded up window to fool criminals into thinking it was lived in
And through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities receive the same level of reward from central government for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one.
But over the years there has been calls for the government to go further, for instance to cut VAT on refurbishment to help owners make homes ready for needy tenants, or to abolish council tax discounts and exemptions on empty homes.
The Local Government Association (LGA), the national membership body for local authorities in England and Wales, believes they must be given more power to reduce the number of empty homes.
Councillor Adam Hug, the housing spokesperson for the LGA said: 'Long-term empty homes represent a missed opportunity to provide housing for those in need and those on housing waiting lists.
'Councils share a collective national ambition to tackle local housing challenges.
'However, they must be sufficiently empowered and funded to carry out work on this area.'
He argues that the qualifying period for Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMO) needs to be reduced to six months.
Currently, EDMOs can only be used on properties vacant for two years and linked to anti-social or criminal behaviour.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data suggests 2.8 per cent of dwellings in Kingston-upon-Thames are long-term vacant.
For a home to be officially classed as 'long-term empty', it has to be liable for council tax, unfurnished, and no one has lived in it for over six months.
These statistics, accurate as of October, are then compared against the most up-to-date estimates of dwellings in each authority.
Vacancy figures above 2 per cent were seen in six other parts of the country – Isles of Scilly, Middlesbrough, Bolsover, Torbay, Preston, and Kensington and Chelsea.
When looking at raw numbers, Birmingham has the biggest supply of empty homes (5,406).
Nationwide, the figure has risen from 200,000 in 2016.
Although the figures say there are now just shy of 265,000 long-term vacant homes, some campaigners believe the true number is closer to 1 million.
However, the vast majority of them are not included in the official data because they have an exception.
For example, a property might not be included in the count if the owner is in care or has recently died and the property is held in probate (waiting to be transferred to a beneficiary).
There are also homes that haven't been unfurnished and empty for longer than six months but which may well be categorised as long-term empties soon.
Action on Empty Homes also estimates there are around 260,000 second homes – holiday or weekend homes left to sit empty for months.
As well as being a waste of resources, long-term empties can also become an issue for those in the local community.
Organised criminal gangs have seized empty homes to farm cannabis, unbeknownst to the owner. Teenage tearaways have also been known to break into them.
Locals might move out to avoid the problems, which can then have a knock-on effect on businesses that might struggle to survive without the custom.
However even if all of the 265,000 long-term empty homes were brought back into circulation, experts warn it would still not be enough.
A 2023 report published by the property experts Savills said it would account for approximately just one year's worth of current housing delivery – falling short of the 300,000 minimum additional dwellings a year required to satisfy demand.
Mairi MacRae, of the housing charity Shelter, said: 'Genuinely affordable social homes are in vanishingly short supply and the country is paying a heavy price.
'A record 165,510 children are homeless in temporary accommodation often shoddy private rentals.
'With more than 1.3million households stuck on social housing waiting lists, it's incredibly frustrating to see homes sitting empty.
'There are no quick fixes for a housing emergency of this scale, but acquiring and converting long-term empty homes is a cheap and sustainable way to get some of the social rent homes we need quickly.
'The government must leave no stone unturned if it's serious about ending homelessness. It must seize the opportunity to convert homes that sit empty for more than six months.'
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'We are determined to fix the housing crisis we have inherited, and we know that having too many empty homes in an area can have a significant impact on the local community.
'That's why councils have a range of powers to bring them back into use, including charging additional council tax on vacant properties and the ability to take over the management of long-term empty homes.'
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The Herald Scotland
35 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Reform is a serious political force in Scotland but Tories in trouble
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Edinburgh Reporter
2 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Lorna Slater will stand for leadership and selection
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We met with Ms Slater on the day when the programme for government was about to be announced by John Swinney the First Minister. She did not believe it would bring many changes, but was proved wrong on one policy – the scrapping of peak rail fares. However the Scottish Greens later responded to the announcement to say that while very welcome and a 'huge win for commuters and climate' the policy change amounted to a U-turn by the government. They also pointed out that this policy was 'initially secured by the Scottish Greens through budget negotiations in 2023 before it was then dropped by the SNP who said the numbers did not stack up to allow them to continue supporting it'. Ahead of the Programme for Government Ms Slater – who hopes to be selected to stand as Green candidate next year, and who hopes to continue as co-leader after an internal election in the summer, said: 'I don't think there'll be any new news. I think it will absolutely be a holding pattern. 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And it just goes to show that with the Greens in there, we were much more ambitious on taking practical action on climate, much more ambitious on tackling landlords, tackling polluting corporations, tackling the vested interests – and the SNP have a lot less interest in that. They have much more interest in keeping things as they are, sort of steadying the ship instead of making big change. And the Greens were about making that big change.' As to the fallout from Scotland's deposit return scheme which has landed the government in court, being sued by Biffa for their expenses getting ready for legislation which did not materialise, she is matter of fact. She said: 'The legislation for that was, of course, passed before I was elected. So in 2020 Scottish Parliament agreed that Scotland would have a deposit return scheme. So that already existed before I was in post, my role was to work with industry to implement that scheme. And that I did, we were weeks away from launching the scheme. 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Why does Wales get a free pass, and Scotland doesn't. So it isn't clear at all that Keir Starmer is changing direction. He hasn't said he will repeal or even revise the internal market act. So the status quo remains. It depends on the goodwill of individual ministers.' One of the reasons that the Scottish Greens and the SNP made for a relatively easy marriage was over the question of independence on which they agree. Ms Slater said: 'I'm a proponent of Scottish independence, and that is the only way we can be sure to put in place plans and programs that we know won't be interfered with by the UK government.' Whether or not I am selected as a candidate, the Scottish Greens will be standing on being a proudly progressive party of Scottish independence. Other parties, Labour, SNP, have conceded that left ground are moving toward the centre. They're allowing Reform to pull them in that rightward direction. You can see that with Labour, with its anti immigration policies, with its neglect of the social security net, the betrayal of the WASPI women, betrayal of disabled people, people who need benefits to live on – sick and disabled people. 'The Scottish Greens will not betray that ground. We are solidly behind equalities. We are absolutely trans rights supporters. We are absolutely in favour of ambitious work toward net zero. We are not going to give this ground. All of these things are really important to us. Human rights are important to us. A secure social safety net. Taxing the rich to pay for it is something we will we are not shy about saying, the rich for too long, have been under taxed. Have increased their wealth enormously well the poorest suffer. We have hungry children in this country. We also have billionaires. The Scottish Greens don't think that that's right, and that's the ground that we are going to contest the election.' 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And people are experiencing anti social, social behaviour in the streets, all the usual troubles that go with having an NHS and care system industry and people being able to find places for loved ones in care homes people being able to get medical procedures in a timely manner. 'All those things are, of course, what people are concerned with. We also get a reasonable amount of case work because of decisions of the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Those are decisions that are not taken it at the Scottish level, but we work with constituents who are, you know, facing exorbitant fees, deportation, uncertainty in their visa status because of paperwork problems, those are all the kind of things we can support people with.' But there is at least one small chink of light. Asked if it is easier to work with the UK Government under Labour she concedes it is 'slightly easier, yes it is slightly easier. The Conservative government was extremely hostile to Scottish interests. Some of their MPs wouldn't take, correspondence from MSPs, wouldn't help our constituents if they went through an MSP – so they had to always go through an MP. 'I think things are definitely more cooperative, but it doesn't solve the problem that so much of what we need to do we can't help people with because it has to go to London, because it's not devolved. 'And every single day we come across things, Oh, can we help with this? No, it's not devolved. If only Scotland were an independent country, we could take action these things, and that is frustrating every single day.' Lorna Slater MSP Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Scotsman
Readers' Letters: After by-election win Labour needs to sell message of positive change
Labour's surprise win in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election had readers talking Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Reform UK's 26 per cent vote share at the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election is a warning that the populist party with a toxic ideology can make inroads in next year's Holyrood election. Political expert Sir John Curtice estimates Nigel Farage's party could come third, with 18 seats, based on recent polling (your report, 2 June). He said Reform's success is 'very bad news' for the Tories who polled just 6 per cent at the by-election. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Unfounded remarks by Farage about Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar allegedly favouring the Pakistani community were condemned as racist by all major parties in Scotland apart from the Tories, who remain toothless against a party that has overtaken them in the polls and threatens to render them obsolete. The recent resignation of Bellshill-born Reform party chairman Zia Yusuf, after its newest MP suggested the banning of the burka, is a blow to Farage. This follows Reform's controversial views on banning asylum seekers from Reform-held councils, an unworkable net zero migration policy and the recent comments against Mr Sarwar. Scottish Labour Deputy leader Jackie Ballie, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Davy Russell, newly elected Scottish Labour MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse yesterday (Picture: Jeff) Reform has no place in Scottish democracy as it is difficult to justify any support for a party with outdated views on multiculturalism and climate change. Labour must show that Hamilton was not a blip to defeat two decades of failed SNP policies and the toxic politics of Reform. Voters are more likely to engage if there is tangible hope of positive change. Neil Anderson, Edinburgh Counting chickens? While Labour's victory in the Hamilton by-election on Thursday seemingly points to the party winning the Scottish Parliament elections next year, if I were Anas Sarwar I wouldn't be sizing up the curtains of Bute House just yet. The seat was won comfortably by the SNP in the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021 and is just the sort of seat Labour needs to win if Sarwar is to become Scotland's next First Minister. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The SNP has made little progress in restoring its fortunes following its heavy defeat in last summer's Westminster election, with polls suggesting the party's support across Scotland is still 15 points down on its tally in 2021. In the event, the fall in the party's support in Hamilton was, at 17 points, just a little higher than that. However, Labour's own tally was also down by two points on its vote in 2021, when overall the party came a disappointing third. That drop was very much in line with recent polling, which puts the party at just 19 per cent across Scotland as a whole, while the SNP has around a third of the vote. In addition, Labour is losing somewhere between one in six and one in five of its voters to Reform since last year's election. After nearly two decades in the political wilderness, there is little sign that Labour, as it currently stands, is set to regain the reins of power at Holyrood. Alex Orr, Edinburgh Real winner After all the hype by First Minister John Swinney talking up Reform and ignoring Labour it was obviously a tactic by the SNP to try and salvage a win in Hamilton. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Similarly, despite a dreadful campaign by Labour, voting SNP was simply not an option for many on the left. In comes the real winner, Reform UK, with a spectacular vote from a near nil base. Mr Swinney has unleashed a force that will do real damage in the 2026 Holyrood election. The SNP has proved itself too self-congratulatory too many times. Eighteen years of misrule cannot be rewarded by another term in office. All bets are off as to the make-up of Holyrood in 2026. The SNP is tired, Labour has yet to prove itself effective, Reform UK has the bit between its teeth and the Tories might yet recover. A year is a long time in politics. Gerald Edwards, Glasgow Swinney must go The loss of the Hamilton by-election to the risibly inept 'Scottish' Labour – a party so devoid of ideas it could barely muster a coherent manifesto – is not merely a setback. It is a catastrophe of the SNP's own making. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This was an entirely avoidable humiliation. Instead of seizing the moment – with independence support now at a formidable 54 per cent in a Norstat poll – John Swinney chose to dither. His response? A pledge to wait until 75 per cent of Scots beg for freedom before lifting a finger. When Keir Starmer declared he would block any independence referendum, Swinney's silence was deafening. Not a word of defiance, not a hint of resistance to the colonial farce of Section 30. Instead, he opted to align with Labour – a party whose sole distinction from Reform is a marginally more polished veneer of hypocrisy. Both are unionist to the core, united in their mission to siphon Scotland's wealth southward while offering nothing but condescension in return. The campaign itself was a masterclass in misdirection. Rather than rallying the independence movement with a bold vision, Swinney fixated on Reform – as if thwarting Nigel Farage's band of reactionary clowns was the defining struggle of Scottish nationalism. The result? A muddled, defensive mess that left voters uninspired and Labour undeservedly triumphant. The truth is stark: the SNP has no plan for independence. No strategy beyond grovelling to Westminster for permission to hold a vote – a humiliation masquerading as diplomacy. It is a spectacle so pitiful it verges on self-parody. Swinney must go. Not with a whimper, but with the swift, decisive exit his failures demand. The independence movement deserves leaders who grasp that freedom is seized, not negotiated – and who possess the courage to act accordingly. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Until then, the SNP's decline will continue, and Scotland's potential will remain shackled by the timid and the unimaginative. Alan Hinnrichs, Dundee Let teachers teach As a retired primary teacher who worked for 40 years in primary education, I think there is a simple solution to the 'excessive workload'. Stop expecting detailed forward plans, lesson plans and reviews of the same and let teachers teach instead of being overburdened with paperwork for the sake of accountability. The Curriculum for Excellence has a lot to answer for. It was what changed things so drastically and made teaching so much more stressful. When I began teaching in the 1970s, teachers completed a Record of Work every two weeks. This showed the work that had been completed in all the subjects taught in the primary curriculum in the previous two weeks. From there the progress that was made was clear and any teacher taking over the class (say as sickness cover) knew what was being taught. This was not as detailed as the Forward Plan which replaced it, but it was a clear record, in one slim book, of what had been achieved over the school year. Pupils' work was marked daily and preparations for next day made daily. The pupils left literate and numerate and, for the most part, behaved responsibly. Forty years later we were required to make a 'Forward Plan' for each subject for the term ahead and then assessed as to how we felt it had been achieved before writing the next Forward Plan! A daily diary of the plan for each day was also required. This was to be written up for the week so any teacher could take over. This was detailed to show subject, aims and objectives. On top of this there was, of course, the marking and noting of any problems and collecting materials for the next day's work. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the last year or so of my career we had a school inspection. The HMI 'dropped in' to observe one of my lessons and said at the end, 'That was an excellent lesson, but I'm afraid I cannot grade you on it as you didn't have a detailed lesson plan'. My reply was that I had never written a full lesson plan for any lesson since graduating from Callendar Park teacher training college. If teachers are allowed to teach without all the emphasis on accountability their workload would be greatly reduced and they could enjoy working with their pupils and seeing them love to learn, as I did at the start of my career. Barbara Wilson, Edinburgh Cringe no more I must disagree with Alexander McKay, and by extension, Billy Connolly, on the charge that the Scottish Parliament is 'pretendy' (Letters, 6 June). Far from it. Rather, it brings democracy and answerability to our doorstep. If the Scottish Parliament were pretendy, the Westminster Parliament is undoubtedly toxic. Politicians of the calibre of Mhairi Black and Stephen Flynn, disillusioned with Westminster, are seriously thinking of transferring their allegiance. Scotland struggled long and hard to achieve a Scottish Parliament in 1999, with the likes of Donald Dewar, Winnie Ewing, David Steel and Alex Salmond playing leading roles. Hopefully, Holyrood is here to stay, and grow in stature and personnel, with more and Parliamentarians choosing to be MSPs rather than MPs. Let's hear no more of the infamous 'Scottish cringe'. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh On the buses Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Andrew Clark, who expressed absolute dismay over bus lanes (Letters, 5 June), got the wrong end of the stick. Bus priority lanes are not, in the first instance, about reducing pollution, but about minimising congestion for those who are prepared to travel together. And to encourage people to do so, buses need to be able to progress reliably, especially on the main arteries. Cars have a vastly disproportionate footprint compared to buses. Bus lanes go some way towards reallocating the communal road space more fairly. Harald Tobermann, Chair, Edinburgh Bus Users Group Write to The Scotsman
