Propertymark has urged local councils to invest more in empty home schemes and appoint a dedicated officer to tackle the problem after it found less than half of councils have an empty homes strategy.

With more than 359,000 homes sitting empty for more than six months across the UK, it highlights the urgent need for a properly funded national push to bring long-term empty properties back into use.

Its new report highlights how these properties can accelerate neighbourhood decline, attract anti-social behaviour, increase security risks, and reduce property values. For landlords and property agents, prolonged vacancy also means lost income, ongoing financial liabilities and mounting repair costs.

Drawing on Freedom of Information responses from 226 local authorities, Propertymark found that only 38% of councils have an empty homes strategy in place, and only 25% operate with a dedicated budget for empty homes work.

Blunt

While council tax premiums were introduced in 2023 in England, Propertymark warns they are often a blunt instrument that can further deter owners from investing in bringing properties back into use.

It points to Scotland’s £2 million loan fund - the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership - for acquiring and refurbishing empty homes, which has helped return more than 43,000 properties to use since 2010 through advice, local authority coordination and dedicated empty homes officers.

Officer

Local authorities should have a dedicated officer tackling empty properties in their area, a dedicated strategy on tackling empty properties, and have budgets to tackle the problem. Councils should also keep a database of empty properties to support investors and help get more people on the housing ladder, says Propertymark.

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns, says at a time when housing demand continues to outstrip supply, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes unused is neither economically nor socially sustainable.

“Our research shows that while governments across the UK have introduced a range of measures, too many local authorities lack the dedicated resources, funding and strategic framework needed to deliver meaningful change,” he adds.

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