Empty homes on the decrease

The number of empty homes in the UK has fallen due to higher demand for housing and tougher laws, it has been asserted.

The Empty Homes Agency (EHA) has said that extensions to the Housing Act have made it easier for authorities to deal with local properties, adding that it also expected higher demand to have an influence on the number of houses that remain empty.

Integrating the use of empty properties into the London housing strategy has also played its part in helping lower the figure, the EHA added.

"The law has progressively hardened against such behaviour. The Housing Act last year was extended to include another power for local authorities to tackle this problem," commented an Empty Homes Agency spokesperson.

"The London boroughs are stepping up their efforts dramatically, especially since a couple of years ago when empty properties became an integral feature of the London housing strategy.

"There will be a continual improvement. There is a year-on-year downward trend that has already been happening and it is speeding up," the spokesperson added.


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