Dermot McKibbin got in touch with Action on Empty Homes following his investigation of a number of large empty, or virtually empty, properties in his local area, Bromley. These range from a block of 9 flats with only one resident and an expired planning permission for re-development, to a substantial luxury home refurbished and left vacant for years.

The vacant homes of Bromley he discovered varied in age and style, as well as in size and status, ranging from faded art deco delights to functional fifties flats and faux-Georgian mansions.

Further enquiries that Dermot made to the local council revealed that although Bromley Council was formally considering new measures on empty properties, these had been shelved for the present. This had left the council charging only a 50% premium on 2-5 year empty homes which were not brought into use, rather than the maximum 100% allowed in law.

He also discovered that when questions were raised about empty homes at a council meeting back in 2017, the council response chose to focus on a relatively small number of three year empties, while overall levels of empty homes were in fact significantly higher and have risen since. For the latest Bromley data see the Facts and Figures section of this website, or for an A to Z of data on homes without residents for every local council area in England Click this link. For the full picture on Dermot's investigation of Bromley empty homes, you can read his blog on empty homes in Bromley here: 

http://getcommonholddone.co.uk/empty-property/2021/04/14/392/

Dermot is also an ardent campaigner for leasehold reform, which has recently been promised by Government after recommendations from the Law Society.

To read more on his arguments for the reform of leasehold to commonhold see more here:

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