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INTRODUCTION

This report examines the profile, condition and location of England's vacant dwellings. Government policy is to maximise the use of the existing housing stock in order to minimise the need for building new dwellings. Vacant properties restrict the supply of housing and can contribute to housing shortages and homelessness. Obviously there have to be some dwellings vacant at any one time to enable people to move house, but dwellings that are vacant for six months or more represent a problem rather than a way of facilitating movement.

Under part 7 of the 1996 Housing Act local authorities have a statutory duty to provide assistance to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness and also to ensure that suitable accommodation is available for persons in certain priority needs groups and their households. The priority needs groups are:

• households with dependent children or a pregnant woman

• people who are vulnerable in some way eg mental or physical disability

• people aged 16 or 17

• people aged 18 to 20 who were previously in care

• people who are vulnerable as the result of time spent in care, in prison or in HM armed forces

• people forced to flee their home due to violence or the threat of violence.

In the first quarter of 2009, 25,890 applications were made to local authorities for assistance finding accommodation. Of these applications, 44% (11,350) were accepted as being in a priority needs group, and to be homeless through no fault of their own. Many of those accepted as in priority need are placed in temporary accommodation. At the end of March 2009 there were 64,000 households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation, of which 88% were eligible to be housed in permanent accommodation once it became available. One in eight (12%) of these households were housed in accommodation with shared facilities, such as bed and breakfast establishments, hostels or refuges.

Social landlords (local authorities and housing associations) also try to maximise use of their own stock. They have their own targets and policies to minimise vacancy and re-let times for vacant properties. The majority of local authorities and housing associations also participate in choice-based letting schemes that enable them to offer ‘hard to let' stock up to a wider range of applicants. In addition, there are centrally monitored performance indicators linked to the proportion of their stock that is vacant and the average re-let time for vacated property.

Vacant dwellings, whether in the private or social sector, detract from the quality of the local environment and can cause significant problems for local residents. Poorly maintained vacant properties attract vermin, cause damp and other problems for neighbouring properties and are magnets for vandals, squatters, drug dealers and arsonists. Local authorities therefore also actively encourage owners of vacant private sector dwellings to bring them back into use. There are a number of tools at their disposal, ranging from incentives such as loans, renovation grants or advice on selling, leasing and tax. They also possess some powers to require the sale or renovation of dwellings, the most commonly known of which is the compulsory purchase order. The Housing Act 2004 (implemented in 2006) also introduced Empty Dwelling Management Orders. However, powers such as these are rarely used because of the amount of work, time and legal fees involved (CLG, 2010).