Social Housing Bill (Fifth sitting)

Gideon Amos Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Public Bill Committees

[Mr Dillon]

I happily accept the Minister’s considered view about the consultation. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.

Clause, by leave, withdrawn.

New Clause 66

Review of the use of empty homes as social housing

“(1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, publish and lay before Parliament a review on the use of empty homes as social homes.

(2) A review under this section must include information on—

(a) the number of empty homes in England and Wales that could be used for social housing,

(b) the potential merits of a scheme to bring empty homes into use as social housing, and

(c) any challenges involved in establishing such a scheme.”—(Gideon Amos.)

Brought up, and read the First time.

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to discuss new clause 67—Long-term empty homes use: strategy and funding—

“(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, publish and lay before Parliament a national strategy for increasing the acquisition and renovation of long-term empty homes for use as low-cost rental accommodation.

(2) A strategy published under this section must include options for establishing ring-fenced funding for bringing empty homes into use as low-cost rental accommodation, to be made available to strategic authorities or local authorities.

(3) In this section, ‘low-cost rental accommodation’ has the meaning given in section 69 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (low cost rental).

(4) Within 12 months of the publication of the strategy under subsection (1)(a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State must publish data on—

(a) the number of empty homes renovated as a result of the strategy and any subsequent actions, and

(b) the number of acquired empty homes allocated to people previously in temporary accommodation or rough sleeping.”

This new clause would create a national strategy to bring long-term empty homes into use as low-cost rental accommodation.

[Gideon Amos]

It is a pleasure to speak again—no day would be complete without a sitting of this Committee. New clause 66 was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis). In proposing the new clause, she said:

“There are hundreds of thousands of empty homes across England and Wales, while many families wait years for a social home or remain in temporary accommodation.

My amendment would require the Government to carry out a review of how empty homes could be used as social housing. It would assess how many properties could be brought into use, the potential benefits of a dedicated scheme and the barriers that would need to be addressed.

Bringing empty homes back into use can be a faster and more cost-effective way of increasing social housing supply, while also helping to regenerate local communities. This review would give the Government the evidence it needs to act and I hope it will receive support from across the House.”

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I particularly draw attention to the regeneration benefits of bringing empty homes back into use, which are significant. As hon. Members know, many of our town centres have too many empty buildings, and there is a real bottleneck in the procedure for getting them back into use.

The late Liberal Democrat Housing Minister Andrew Stunell started the last significant empty homes programme that any Government have introduced. Begun in 2010, it brought 120,000 empty homes back into use; that is 10 times the number of social homes created last year and a significant contribution to meeting the need for housing.

When the Conservatives took over in 2015, that programme was abandoned—its funding was ended. The number of empty homes is now on the increase again. As a result of the programme, it fell to a record low, from 315,000 to 203,000. However, it has gone up again under subsequent Governments. By October 2026, it had risen to 303,000, almost back to its 2010 level, up 14% on 2024 and 50% higher than in 2015 when the programme ended.

The programme brought units into use for affordable rent, low-cost home ownership and social rent. It therefore made a significant contribution to not just housing but social housing. Its grant was around £22,000 per dwelling—significantly less than the average subsidy for creating new social housing. It was therefore a very important factor.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh has pointed out, there are hundreds of thousands of empty dwellings in the country. We need a programme to bring them back into use. That is the missing link in the Government’s housing policy. A Liberal Democrat Government would bring in an empty homes programme forthwith. We commend the new clause to the Committee.

[Matthew Pennycook]

I thank the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington for speaking to new clause 66, tabled in the name of the hon. Member for Eastleigh. He rightly pointed out that there are currently more than 300,000 homes that have been empty for six months or more. The Government absolutely want to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country, but we do not believe that a national review or a national empty homes strategy supported by a new ringfenced fund is the right approach.

The scale and causes of empty homes vary considerably between places, as do local housing pressures and the interventions that will be most effective. Therefore, we believe that local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities are best placed to understand those circumstances and determine the right approach for their areas. Local authorities can already access funding to bring homes back into use, including through the social and affordable homes programme, the local authority housing fund and the long-term rough sleeping innovation programme. Loan funding is also available through the Public Works Loan Board to support the acquisition of empty homes.

We are also strengthening local authorities’ powers to bring empty homes back into use by reforming empty dwelling management orders, removing evidential requirements and reducing the period that a property must be empty before it is eligible for an EDMO from two years to six months.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gideon Amos]

Perhaps I can give an example from my own experience. I have set on record my interest as a social landlord. In another life, under the programme I described, I brought into use four empty dwellings as social housing. The challenge with an empty home is that, although the grant level is generally less, and the cost can be less than building a new home, the schemes are much more complicated due to ownership, these being existing buildings, consents and the fact that many are listed. So it is with some trepidation that owners and developers go into this field.

The benefit of the previous scheme was that it was a ringfenced scheme dedicated for empty homes, rather than relying on the existing processes and programmes. Affordable social housing programmes will not generally be geared towards what can be long-winded and complex schemes in the empty homes field. Having a ringfenced fund that is named and available gives owners and developers the confidence to know that an empty homes scheme will compete well among the applications submitted in the social and affordable homes programme.

Finally, I reiterate that the previous scheme was the most successful that I can find recorded for empty homes. It brought the number of empty homes down to its lowest level ever, from 320,000 down to 200,000. This is proven technology, so we should proceed with it. Unless and until the Government have their own empty homes programme—I have not heard about one—we should continue to push them on this.

Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gareth Bacon]

I echo the Minister’s sentiments. Obviously, on a subject like this, there will be disagreements across the House, but they have been largely respectful and, at times, quite good-humoured. I thank the Minister, his officials, my hon. Friends from the Opposition, the Liberal Democrats and all hon. Members on the Committee. I look forward to seeing you all on Report.

[Gideon Amos]

I repeat the thanks from the Minister and the Opposition spokesman to officials. I thank my hon. Friends who have supported me, and the Minister for taking on board so many amendments—at least in spirit, if not in reality.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill, as amended, accordingly to be reported.