The government should release dedicated funding for empty homes officers if it wants to deal with the scourge of houses sitting empty up and down the UK, Propertymark has urged.
The estate agency body found that just 38% of councils have an empty homes strategy in place, while just 41% have a dedicated empty homes officer.
There are currently over 359,000 homes sitting empty for more than six months across the UK.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Long-term empty properties are a visible reminder of a system that is not working as effectively as it should. At a time when housing demand continues to outstrip supply, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes unused is neither economically nor socially sustainable.
“Our research shows that while governments across the UK have introduced a range of measures, too many local authorities lack the dedicated resources, funding and strategic framework needed to deliver meaningful change.
“Financial penalties alone will not solve the problem. What works is sustained local engagement, professional advice, and properly funded empty homes teams that can support owners through the process of bringing properties back into use.”
Propertymark launched a detailed paper on the subject called ‘Tacking empty properties’.
The paper calls on governments and local authorities to: Work collaboratively with communities and the third sector to address the root causes of vacancy; reform business rates to incentivise reuse of commercial property; extend the Welsh Empty Homes Grant Scheme to private landlords; introduce targeted regeneration investment in areas with high concentrations of long-term empty homes; and ensure every local authority has a clear strategy, database and dedicated budget for tackling empty properties
The body also called for reforms to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) to allow earlier intervention, while ensuring consultation with qualified property agents to speed up the return of stock to the market.
