HCA map to pinpoint location of England’s 652,000 empty homes
The Homes and Communities Agency will map every empty home in England in a bid to dramatically reduce their number - an estimated 652,000.
The map will be used to pinpoint empty homes ‘hotspots’ and provide information on their surroundings.
Due to be released for public use in September, the map is the result of a programme launched in July by the HCA and 17 local authorities. Each council received a share of a £1 million grant from the Communities and Local Government department, in addition to training for empty homes management. Sixty additional authorities joined the scheme following a further £130,000 grant from the HCA.
Gera Drymer, policy manager at the HCA, said the agency wanted to get ‘as much feedback as possible about the barriers that might slow down the process [of getting empty homes into use]’.
The scheme’s initial findings are set to be released in October, with a second report due in February next year.
Malcolm Mather, empty homes and private landlords initiatives manager at Durham Council, which was involved in the scheme, said: ‘We have 6,000 homes that have been empty for more than six months; many are victims of the property crisis. In the first quarter of this year we’ve brought back 15 empty homes.’
Inside Housing has conducted a long-running campaign, Empty Promise, to try to reduce the number of vacant homes in the UK.
The CLG is due to announce a consultation paper on empty homes. Sources suggest that it will look at legislation, housing association finance and the place of the voluntary sector.
