Affordable Housing Activists Eye England’s 216,000 Empty Houses

View of Southwark, London and the River Thames
Southwark and the City of London flank the Thames. They have the highest proportion of vacant homes in the London area.

A new study has emerged that indicates there are far more unsuitably housed people in the UK than previously thought. Read more in The Guardian: More Than 8 Million People In England Live In Unsuitable Homes

Faced with these kinds of numbers it’s no wonder that not only activists, but governments — local and national — are eyeing the country’s empty housing and looking for ways to convert ‘abandoned/empty’ into ‘refurbished/affordable.’

Coincidently, an annual report indicates there has been an increase of some 11,000 empty homes, twice the increase of the previous year. Read more in Metro News: 216,000 Empty Properties Could Help Homeless Crisis

What is the reason for so many empty houses?

There are many explanations. Regional depopulation due to lack of employment opportunities is one. Read more in The Courier: North Sea Oil Bust Blamed For Fuelling Empty Homes In Angus

Little-used second homes — often vacation homes — that sit idle for a large part of the year are an issue in scenic corners of the country. Try: When Lack of Affordable Housing For Others Becomes A Health Problem For You

Another reason that probably accounts for most of London’s empty homes: Investors who ‘buy to leave.’ Read more in Londonist: 22,000 Homes Are Sitting Empty In London

The UK government has granted powers to local councils to seize empty homes under certain conditions in order to repurpose or refurbish them as affordable housing. The Labour party, though not in power, has finished its most recent conference with a promise to make seizure of empty homes compulsory if they win the next election. Read more in the Daily Mail: Labour Backs Plan To Seize ‘Empty Private Homes’ And Introduce State Control Of Property Prices Alongside A Building Blitz To Create TWO MILLION Council Houses To Tackle Housing Crisis

For those in UK and elsewhere looking for more information on what can be done to revitalize empty houses to help address the affordable housing crisis, the UK has an organization — Action on Empty Homes — Whose purpose is to explore methods and spur action to add previously empty homes to a national pool of affordable housing.

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