Empty houses to solve affordable homes problem

24-Oct-2005

First time buyers will welcome calls to turn over 689,675 currently unused properties across England into affordable homes.

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Recent research by Halifax revealed that almost half a million properties are categorised as empty and could be used to help solve the problem of a lack of affordable housing in the UK.

Organisers of the National Week of Action on Empty Homes believe that local authorities should take action and enable more first time buyers to get on the first rung of the property ladder.

"What we would like to see is a genuinely sequential approach to housing strategy across the country," explained Jonathon Ellis, Empty Homes Agency chief executive.

The agency has called for housing authorities to take advantage of available sites and properties and to plan for the future. It has also urged residents to report any empty homes in their neighbourhood.

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Figures showed that the north-west had the highest number of empty homes, expecially in Burnley and Liverpool, while areas with large temporary housing needs were also found to contain many unused properties.

"It is in the interest of the whole community to eradicate the empty homes problem," concluded Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax.

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