Greater London has most abandoned properties

Greater London is the region with the highest volume of abandoned and derelict homes, with nearly 290,000 standing completely empty, analysis from Together has found.

The South East has the second most empty homes, followed by the North West, and South West.

It’s thought some of these homes could be given a new lease of life as housing, following government proposals to cut red tape.

Calling on her near 15 years of expertise; TV property expert, Lucy Alexander is driving awareness of property lender, Together’s Hidden Gems campaign.

She said: “During my time with Homes under the Hammer, very often the homes we were filming for the show would be derelict and left untouched and unloved for years.

I’ve always enjoyed the thrill of seeing these abandoned properties taken on by those who aren’t shy of a challenge and want to transform a unique property into a home.

“So many people just don’t think these types of buildings are accessible which is why Together’s Hidden Gems campaign is so important – shining a light on the vast opportunities across the country and how to secure the financing needed to complete these amazing projects!”

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has pledged that developers will be able to convert shops, offices, and other commercial buildings into homes without full planning permission, with the changes resulting in tens of thousands of homes being built every year in England’s 20 largest regional cities.

Looking at property type, the London Boroughs combined have the most detached homes with 9,199 worth £11.5bn. At the Local Authority level however, Cornwall is the detached vacant home capital with 9,180 detached houses with a value of £4.2bn.

For semi-detached homes it’s Birmingham with 4,721 empty properties worth £1.2bn and while County Durham has the highest volume of terraced homes at 7,472 worth £757m. Westminster holds the highest volume of empty flats and apartments at 33,102, worth £27bn.

Elliot Vure, corporate director at Together, added: “Fixing the UK housing crisis has been a long-standing and thorny problem for successive governments. What is needed is a more joined-up approach. There should be a long-term strategy to encourage homebuyers and rental investors to bring back to life the hundreds of thousands empty homes across the UK’s regions. And, while we welcome moves to relax planning restrictions to enable more commercial-to-residential developments, there needs to be greater access to funding for what can often be complex projects.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, through our Hidden Gems we hope to open doors to potential homebuyers, investors, and developers to make sure they have access to finance, support through government policies and incentives to achieve their ambitions.”