Our demonstration projects

Action on Empty Homes has a major project to spread community-based regeneration in areas with high levels of empty homes.

We are following six demonstration projects where community-based organisations are bringing empty homes into use.

The six demonstration projects are:

Cultures CIC working in Stockton on Tees - see more here
East Midlands CLH working in the Sincil Bank area of Lincoln - see more here
Giroscope Ltd working in Kingston upon Hull - see more here
Groundwork Greater Manchester working in Rochdale - see more here
Methodist Action North West working in Darwen, Lancashire - see more here
North Ormesby CLT working in Middlesbrough - see more here

We want to understand what works, as well as the challenges they face.

We aim to share their experiences, to encourage other organisations and areas to look at how community-based regeneration could work in their neighbourhoods.

You can read or download both the initial report on this project and the concluding report 'Community Action on Empty Homes' published on May 2nd 2019. This practical report includes recommendations and reviews learning from the full three-year research project, during which we followed the work of the six case study projects. Just click the document images below to view and download the reports as pdfs:

Film from HuffPost:

For an alternative look at how community-led organisations can bring empty homes back to use, with benefits for the whole community, see this recent HuffPost film featuring the great work of Canopy Housing in Leeds, creating homes from empty homes. The film also features a look at the wider picture from Action on Empty Homes, which covers the issues which unite empty homes in high and lower value markets around the country: https://bit.ly/2RHCWGY

For local authority officers working on empty homes:

Our Legal Toolkit looks summarises the powers and solutions available to local council officers taking enforcement action against homes left empty, it includes case studies to show how particular enforcement powers operate under current legislation, it is available for free download, here: 'Legal Toolkit: How to use the law to best effect to get empty homes back into use: a short guide on the legal options available to local authorities'

Latest

What is happening to Brent's Housing? Public Meeting 27th May

London housing development is driven by frantic corporate and wealth investment activity. New hi-rise blocks spring up but these are overwhelmingly private and often contain empty and underutilised flats. Meanwhile, council homes, which provide decent and affordable housing for those on low incomes, are slated for demolition or sell-offs across the capital. Action on Empty Homes London borough meetings explore housing pressure in the capital - Camden Meeting 27th May 6.30pm
Community Action on Empty Homes Toolkit

Our new Toolkit is designed to encourage partnerships between local councils and communities to bring empty homes back into use, to meet local housing needs.
Come to Your Borough Meeting: What is happening to London's Housing? Upcoming meeting: Brent 27th May

In Spring 2021, Action on Empty Homes is hosting London borough meetings to ask why the new high-rise blocks we see springing up all around us are not reducing the numbers in temporary accommodation? See info from the Camden, Haringey, Southwark and Hackney meetings
Looking for the empty homes in Bromley

A supporter of our campaign to bring empties back into use has been examining the evidence on his doorstep in Bromley

How do I find the owner of an abandoned property?

Action on Empty Homes does not have the capacity to assist individuals or property developers in locating the owners of individual empty properties, but we can access expert advice for you and there are a number of ways in which the owner may be located, these are listed here:
Facts and figures

Government publish data on vacant dwellings for each local authority and for England as a whole. Action on Empty Homes publishes the most authoritative guide to empty homes data and each year we analyse the official data on long-term empty homes, producing the only comprehensive analysis of this data.
National Empty Homes Week 2021 starts 15th Feb as we call for action on massive rise in empties

National Empty Homes Week 15 – 21 Feb: Action on Empty Homes calls for Government action on escalating numbers of long-term empties . Numbers rose in 9 out of ten council areas. The 42,540 rise in 2020 was the fourth successive annual rise in numbers, but larger than the previous three years’ rises combined.
Current Projects

We are developing a toolkit for community-led empty homes projects and working on tackling wealth investor ‘buy to leave’ in London and through the Global Empty Homes Network. We are also building a national coalition to call for government investment in empty homes.
Publications and Research

We produce four types of publications: Campaign publications advocating policy responses to end the waste of empty homes Research and analysis of the issue including Empty Homes in England, the only comprehensive annual analysis of official data Reports on active programmes to bring empty homes into use Practical toolkits to support those working in the field
Why empty homes matter

There are over 216,000 homes long-term empty when England needs over 300,000 additional homes each year. Bringing long-term empty homes back into use will also help rebuild neighbourhoods and make environmental sense.
Will the last investor leaving Southwark please turn out the lights.. until Airbnb is back in business

New Government data shows how the Coronavirus pandemic shines a light on how we keep on building housing which doesn't house anyone: so homelessness rises, affordability declines and home ownership drops. Southwark is the canary in this particular coalmine.
What we do

Action on Empty Homes campaigns for empty homes to be brought into use for people in housing need. We raise awareness, campaign for policy change, provide advice and research and develop ideas to help bring empty homes into use
The solutions

We believe in community-led action to tackle empty homes, encouraged by active local authorities to support grassroots initiatives, underpinned by a government investment strategy to bring long-term empties back into use.
Meet the team

Our staff team and Board of Trustees work closely together to ensure that Action on Empty Homes campaigns for change in the most effective way.