3.2% of Housing Stock is Unoccupied
Research shows 700,000 homes are empty, while 100,000 families live in temporary housing
17th October 2005
Research by Halifax, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, has revealed that nearly 700,000 residential properties in the UK are empty, equating to 3.2% of the national housing stock.
This high level is contrasted with the fact that over 100,000 families are living in temporary accommodation, which equals 0.5% of all households.
It would seem that this huge number of unutilised dwellings could help to alleviate the widely reported housing shortages, but as the definition of an 'empty property' includes those awaiting demolition, and that the most empty properties tended to be found in low income or high unemployment areas, the picture isn't quite that clear.
Tim Crawford of Halifax noted that while the number of empty homes had fallen over the last 5 years, more work was needed to reduce the number further:
"It is in the interest of the whole community to eradicate the empty homes problem. Apart from the social benefits of bringing empty homes back into use, house prices tend to be lower in areas with a high number of empty homes."
Read More: Halifax Press Release
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