'Not the right housing' Homebuilding may be at a 30-year high, but Action on Empty Homes says a rise in the number of long-term empty properties shows the wrong kind of housing is being built. Long-term empty homes numbers rose for the third consecutive year to 226,000 nationally. While numbers in London rose by 10%, more than double the national rate of increase, with Hounslow seeing the fastest rise in the country at 158% and Harrow seeing numbers rocket up by 137%. Quoted in both the Hackney Gazette and the Islington Gazette, (London Boroughs which saw 24% and 21% increases in empty homes in the last year, respectively) Action on Empty Homes National Campaigns Manager said, "There is speculation unsold newbuilds are contributing, alongside a general slowing of the housing market lowering transactions. "One South East officer told me that of his 600 or so long-term empties, over a quarter were unsold newbuilds, including both market sale and so-called affordable shared ownership units. "We can add to that the stories we know about in London where luxury developments like flats in Centrepoint remain unsold as Brexit jitters lead to developers pulling them off the market. "When we set this against rising numbers of street homeless fuelled by benefit cuts and Universal Credit sanctions and increased numbers of Londoners in temporary accommodation, it's difficult to call this anything other than a scandal." You can read the full article here: Manage Cookie Preferences