Empty homes increase
There are now more empty homes in the UK, despite government initiative to stem the tide of idle homes.
According to the Empty Homes Agency (EHA), there are now 672,924 properties sitting empty across the country.
This accounts for 3.02 per cent of the entire housing stock.
A similar survey carried out by the EHA last year found 663,328 properties were presently unoccupied.
As such there are now 9,596 more empty homes.
Commenting on the EHA findings James Rowlands, public policy officer at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said: The increase in empty homes shows that the government is failing to tackle this serious problem which can damage neighbourhoods and send them into a rapid spiral of decline.
"The situation will only get worse if demand continues to weaken in the housing market or if transaction levels continue to drop as demonstrated by the number of empty flats in places like Leeds."
Just 40,963 empty properties were owned by local councils, while 38,178 were owned by the housing association and 6,554 were account for by other public bodies.
The vast majority, some 587,229 properties, were owned by private landlords.
The worst affected area was the north-west of England, where 128,993 properties sit empty.
"Empty homes are a wasted asset that must be brought back into use as soon as possible," continued Mr Rowlands.
"At a time when housebuilding targets are not being met it is essential that central government and local authorities take action to make sure that empty homes are not wasted homes."
Chris O'Toole
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