More than 600,000 homes in England are currently empty

[Mark Brown]

More than 600,000 homes in England are currently empty
by Natalie Cornish, House Beautiful (UK)
Ref: http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/homeandproperty/more-than-600000-homes-in-england-are-currently-empty/ar-BBQ2BYp?li=AA64tF

More than 600,000 homes across England are currently vacant, with a third empty for six months or more, government figures show.

Official figures obtained by Attic Self Storage revealed the number of vacant properties has increased over the last few years to a 605,891 high. At the same time, homelessness has also increased with the latest government figures showing more than 4,700 people are sleeping rough on any given night in England.

The north is the worst affected region with a consistently high percentage of vacant dwellings, compared to the south. 

Lancashire and Cumbria are the two counties with the highest percentage of empty homes (around 20,002), while West Yorkshire has the highest number of long-term vacant lots (11,930) followed by Greater Manchester (10,827). Some 10,000 properties are also empty in Liverpool, which now has its highest level of vacant homes since 2013.

London is leading the way in the south. The percentage of vacant dwellings in the City of London and Southwark has more than doubled in the last five years.

Frederic de Ryckman de Betz, CEO of Attic Self Storage, says he has witnessed the rise in empty homes and homelessness first hand in London.

'As the nights get colder and longer, we wanted to look into potential solutions that would provide shelter for the most vulnerable in society,' he said. 

'This research shows that the number of vacant dwellings in England appears very high. While the availability of affordable housing is clearly only one factor contributing to the issue of homelessness, we hope that by highlighting the availability of potential homes for those in need, we will move those that can effect change into action.'

Homelessness charity Shelter believes the problem is much bigger than previously estimated. In a report released today, they say 320,000 people were recorded as homeless in Britain in 2018. That's 36 every day. 

London has the highest rate of homelessness, but the problem is growing the fastest in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the BBC reports.