Empty Homes Agency - Call For Public Action On Empty Homes

19th November 2008
For immediate release
Empty Homes Agency - Call for Public Action on Empty Homes
To mark National Empty Homes Week of Action 23rd – 29th November 2008
independent charity The Empty Homes Agency is calling on the public to
report run-down empty homes to help bring them back into use.
“At the very time people need more homes, record numbers are falling empty”
says Chief Executive David Ireland. There are now enough vacant homes in
England to house almost two million people1 yet far more attention is paid to
building new ones. Councils have the power to step in and help, but can’t do
so unless they know where they are and won’t unless they know people care”,
he said.
The Empty Homes Agency this week launches a new website

ReportEmptyHomes.com to make it as easy as possible for people to report
empty homes that are affecting them. The website will automatically report the
property to the person in the council who can take action and will provide
updates until the property is back in use.
“If everybody who is affected by this growing problem reported just one empty
home it would provide a huge impetus and send a huge message to
government and councils that action is needed now” said Mr Ireland.
REPORT AN EMPTY HOME!

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ReportEmptyHomes.com
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1
The latest data from Dept of Communities and Local Government show 762,635 empty
homes. The average household size in England is 2.4. Vacancy in other parts of the UK are
as follows Scotland 78,000, Northern Ireland 50,000, Wales:50,000
Notes
Information collected by the Empty Homes Agency shows that the

deteriorating housing market is causing more homes to fall empty and stay
empty. We believe the principal causes are:
• Small-scale house redevelopment and refurbishment have almost

come to a halt, meaning houses that fall empty are staying empty.
• Housing regeneration projects that have stalled because their funding

is no longer viable, but only after the residents have been moved out.
• A big rise in the level of house repossessions by lenders2
• An oversupply of newly built flats in some city centre locations3
We believe that action now can reverse the trend and create more homes
partly compensating for the deficit caused by falling house building rates.
We believe that this can be achieved by:
• Councils using their powers to help empty property owners get their
homes back into use.
• Targeted funding from government to support local authorities that use

their powers to bring empty homes back into use – Government has
not given councils the resources they need to implement new powers
introduced in 2006.
• Making it more cost effective for owners of empty homes to bring them
back into use by reducing the VAT on refurbishment of empty homes to
5% or less for properties empty for more than a year.
• Reintroducing government grants scrapped five years ago4 to allow

housing associations to buy and renovate empty homes. Current
subsidy is heavily weighted towards new build.
• Removing the public subsidy still offered by some councils to owners of

empty homes through council tax discounts and exemptions. We
advocate replacing the current system with a 50% discount for one
2
The FSA said in October 2008 that there had been 11,054 house repossessions in e
previous year up 71% on 2007.
3
Market analysts Jones Lang LaSalle reported in August 2008 the market for flats was
saturated in many British towns and cities.
4
Purchase and repair grants subsidised the cost of buying and repairing run down empty
homes by housing associations. The grants were withdrawn in 2003, subsequently most new
housing association property has been acquired through planning gain - a percentage of new
privately built housing.
year to encourage owners to renovate them, and charging full council
tax thereafter.
• Reintroducing grants to support housing associations and housing

cooperatives make temporary use of properties that are empty awaiting
redevelopment. A small temporary Social Housing Grant scheme
would enable councils and housing associations to let temporary void
properties instead of leaving them empty as happens now.
To report empty homes to the Empty Homes Agency log on to

http://reportemptyhomes.com or phone 0870 901 6303
Examples of empty properties reported to us
Seventy-eight houses owned by Transport for London and the London

Borough of Enfield are empty on a mile stretch of the North Circular Road in
North London. They were acquired by compulsory purchase in the 1970s by
the Department of Transport for a road-widening scheme that never
happened and have been left empty ever since many falling into dereliction.
Boris Johnson was highly critical of the situation in his mayoral election
campaign, but has yet to act since his election to mayor.
http://reportemptyhomes.com/report/6
http://reportemptyhomes.com/report/2
Over 2,000 houses lie empty in the Anfield area of Liverpool. Most of the
homes have been acquired by the council and housing associations.1,800 are
due for demolition in order to free up land for new development. In the
housing market downturn there must be real doubt as to whether new
development is likely to take place. Across the nine Housing Market Renewal
Pathfinders 40,000 houses are still due for demolition. Anfield has the highest
concentration of vacant properties anywhere in the country.
Over a thousand flats lie empty in the Ferrier estate in South East London, the
estate is due for demolition, but delays have caused many flats to lie empty
for more than four years. Several shortlife housing companies have offered to
make use of them but have been turned down by the owners Greenwich
Council. As a squatter prevention measure, the council have deliberately
damaged many of the flats to make them uninhabitable.
A concerted effort is already underway in many parts of the country to

keep properties occupied. Excellent schemes like these prove what can
be achieved
The Clapham Park Estate in South London is in the midst of a major

regeneration scheme, much of it is due for demolition. But there are very few
vacant flats. Clapham Park Homes who manage the estate have employed
property guardian company Camelot Property Management to make
temporary use of the flats until they are demolished. As soon as Clapham
Park Homes tenants move out, Camelot property guardians move in
preventing the property from being squatted and deteriorating, and providing
low cost temporary housing for the guardians.
Despite the bleak outlook for much of Anfield in Liverpool there is a beacon of
hope; In response to demands from residents a whole road of empty homes
(Tancred Street) has been bought up by local developer the Affordable
Housing Development Company. Rather than demolish them they are
carrying out a major refurbishment and remodeling program on the houses. It
started late last year, and in the early summer of 2008 the first house went up
for sale. Disproving the official view that Anfield is an area of low housing
demand all the houses have been sold. For the first time in a generation
people are queuing up to move into Anfield.
In Derbyshire the closure of the local colliery in Creswell in Derbyshire in 1991

precipitated a collapse of the local economy. Within a few years the historic
village built to house miner’s families was lying boarded up and derelict. Many
believed that the loss of the village’s major employer made the model village
unviable. But a local consortium of local councils and English Partnerships -
Meden Valley Making Places proved them wrong. Using a combination of
regeneration, and heritage funding and private finance the 281 properties
were restored and all are now fully occupied
For more details or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Shashi Ioannides – Communications Manager

020 7022 1870
[email protected]
Henry Oliver, Policy Advisor

020 7022 1869
[email protected]
David Ireland, Chief Executive

020 7022 1867
07941 451550 (m)
[email protected]

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19th November 2008

For immediate release

Empty Homes Agency - Call for Public Action on Empty Homes

The Empty Homes Agency this week launches a new website

REPORT AN EMPTY HOME!

Information collected by the Empty Homes Agency shows that the

• Small-scale house redevelopment and refurbishment have almost

• Housing regeneration projects that have stalled because their funding

• A big rise in the level of house repossessions by lenders2

• An oversupply of newly built flats in some city centre locations3

We believe that this can be achieved by:

• Targeted funding from government to support local authorities that use

• Reintroducing government grants scrapped five years ago4 to allow

• Removing the public subsidy still offered by some councils to owners of

• Reintroducing grants to support housing associations and housing

To report empty homes to the Empty Homes Agency log on to

Examples of empty properties reported to us

Seventy-eight houses owned by Transport for London and the London

A concerted effort is already underway in many parts of the country to

The Clapham Park Estate in South London is in the midst of a major

In Derbyshire the closure of the local colliery in Creswell in Derbyshire in 1991

For more details or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Shashi Ioannides – Communications Manager

Henry Oliver, Policy Advisor

David Ireland, Chief Executive

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