Residential Accommodation: Empty Homes

Lord Greenhalgh Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I agree with the noble Baroness that things are not moving as quickly as we would like. However, the statistics I have here are that since 2010 the number of long-term empty homes is down by more than 50,000. It is still much too high at 248,000 but is following a trend downwards, given all the measures being taken. As well as the measures I have outlined with regard to secondary council tax and EDMO action that is going on, we estimate that the changes we are making in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill could bring a further 71,000 to 85,000 properties into scope of the premium and potentially raise up to £120 million for local authorities. We hope that all these initiatives together, along with the work that the Local Government Association is doing, will empower councils to do what they need to do to get as many homes as possible back in use.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

Before we get to an understanding of what the best solution is to the number of empty homes we have, can my noble friend the Minister explain why we see such stark regional variations? A lot is made of the number of empty homes in London, but the proportion of dwelling stock that lies empty is greatest in the north-east. What is driving this increase in parts of the country?

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for the question—some noble Lords will be aware I inherited this file this morning from my noble friend Lord Evans, who is stuck on a train from Manchester. In terms of long-term empty homes—that is, those which have been empty for six months or more—as well as looking at the statistics I have given for England, it is interesting to look at the differences. Empty homes are found in both deprived and affluent areas. As a proportion of housing stock, for example, Middlesbrough has 1.9% and Kensington and Chelsea has 1.7%, so it does not seem to follow that there is an overall trend in terms of long-term empty properties. As I stated, the national average is 1% in England, 1.7% in Wales and 1.6% in Scotland. There are differences, but everyone has the same problem. They all need to find ways of empowering local authorities and giving them the tools to get those properties back in use.