Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83617 on Retail Trade: Empty Property, how many High Street Rental Auctions have been held.

The auction is the final stage of the High Street Rental Auction process which supports councils to reoccupy vacant commercial units. These powers were introduced in December 2024 and early adopter councils confirmed in March 2025. Since then, no council has reached the auction stage, but there are a number of councils that have reported closer engagement with landlords after designating the high street resulting in new lettings and sales of long term vacant units.

Since the powers were recently introduced, no specific assessment has yet been made, but the government is working closely with early adopter councils to support and monitor delivery.