Following on from my 20th June 2026 post, ‘A Quick Fix to Britain’s Housing Crisis’, The House of Lords has now published its own 14th September 2026 briefing note on the subject ‘ Empty Homes in England and Wales’, prompted by a question from Lord John Bird (Crossbench), asking what assessment the government has made of the potential for a National Empty Homes Strategy to help end homelessness. You will remember John Bird as the founder of the Big Issue, which has probably done more to tackle rough sleeping than anyone else.
The Briefing Note refers to the 1.5 million unoccupied homes in the UK, many of which need major renovation to become habitable and with some being deliberately left empty in the hope that they can increase in value over time. This latter category has been termed a ‘buy to leave investment’. There are other properties whose owners have died and with no obvious beneficiary. The Local Government Association and the Empty Homes Network have stated:
” Every empty home removes a property from the housing market and with it the chance of those on the housing registers to be housed, first time buyers to purchase, or those looking to progress on the property ladder.”
The Briefing {aper also responds to industry stakeholder calls for an empty homes strategy to bring these properties back into use. They argue that unaffordable rents, rising homelessness, record levels of temporary accommodation use and long waits for social housing meant that each empty home represented a missed opportunity to provide settled housing, revitalise communities and make efficient use of existing stock, It is also one of the quickest, greenest and most cost effective ways to increase housing supply. It is argued that an empty homes strategy should include:
- A fully funded local authority duty to investigate and act on long-term empty homes complaints
- National initiatives, such as a loan scheme, a national acquisition fund and an enforcement fund
- Replacing the new homes bonus scheme with rewards for successful empty homes interventions
- Ring fencing council tax premium revenue for local housing initiatives
- Developing empty homes specific enforcement powers
- Reducing stamp duty for purchases where properties are used to meet local demand for social housing and who provide homes for those on a pathway out of temporary accommodation.
Currently local authorities can access funding through the Affordable Homes Program 2021 to 2026 and the Local Authority Housing Fund.
Back in 2018, under the last government, I wrote my own book on the subject titled Housing Regeneration: a plan for implementation, which was published through Routlege. One reviewer said:
“This provides a brief overview of housing and development considerations affecting local authorities from a legal perspective. It’s probably too short to answer all questions that a lawyer may be researching on the matter. Even so, it offers a helping hand navigating some complex issues and in some instances much more than that. I had hoped for material on overarching development agreements which didn’t seem to make an appearance. The chapter on local authority companies was particularly useful. By the standards of law books, this is very cheap, so for the price, 4 out of 5 stars is more than justified.”
