The solutions

The Solutions

If we all take action together we can radically reduce the number of empty homes across the country.

Take action in your local community

Individuals and local housing activist groups have taken community-led action to create new projects to bringing empty homes back into use. Contact Brighid Carey if you want to take local action.

Elected councillors can play an important role

Local councillors have played a crucial role in tackling empty homes by developing strategies to support local communities and individuals who want to take action. If you are a local councillor or an officer and want to get involved, then email Chris Bailey.

Get involved in our London focused ‘Buy to Leave’ project.

London has thousands of properties bought by wealthy investors, who leave them empty to store of wealth or to sell-on at a profit. In the second half of 2019, we will be holding a public consultation on what the GLA and the Government should be doing to stop this practice. Get in touch with Will McMahon if you want to get involved.

Join our campaign for government investment

We are calling for the government to invest in tackling empty homes. In the summer of 2019, we will be launching our National Action on Empty Homes Partnership. It is calling for three things:

Government investment to tackle the growth in empty homes
Local Authority commitment to developing strategies for community-led solutions for empty homes
Community-led action to refurbish empty homes in local communities.

Please let us know if you want to become a supporter by emailing info (at) actiononemtpyhomes.org

Stay in touch by joining our e-bulletin list.

Our e-bulletins are short and snappy but will keep you up to speed on what is going on both nationally and internationally on empty homes. Email Chris Bailey with 'Bulletin' in the subject line.

Latest

Antony Fletcher - founder of the Empty Homes Agency: 1929 - 2019

Antony Fletcher was the founder and moving force behind Action On Empty Homes and it is with great sadness that we have to report his death.
Homes Without Residents - new report

Our London housing project looks at 'buy to leave' and the impact of wealth investment in residential property. Raising critical questions over 100,000 London homes sucked out of residential supply, the role of Airbnb and so-called 'second homes'. Includes international survey of policy responses.
A new Toolkit for communities and local authorities

Brighid Carey outlines our new project developing a Toolkit which aims to help bring local authorities and communities together into informed, knowledgeable partnerships to bring empty homes into use.
Estimating ‘buy to leave’ in Kensington & Chelsea

Data from the latest Council Taxbase reveals Kensington & Chelsea has the highest proportion of long-term empty homes in London. Furthermore, 10% of the borough's homes are classed as 'second homes'. Chujan Sivathasan uses data from Jonathan Bourne at UCL and draws on Dr Rex Atkinson's work on 'Anchoring Wealth: The grounded impact of international wealth chains on housing markets in London'

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
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
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.
Empty Homes England 2019 is available now

Our new annual report on the state of the empty homes problem in England reports the second consecutive annual increase in numbers to over 216,000 and the fastest rise in a decade
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.
Homes Without Residents - new report

Our London housing project looks at 'buy to leave' and the impact of wealth investment in residential property. Raising critical questions over 100,000 London homes sucked out of residential supply, the role of Airbnb and so-called 'second homes'. Includes international survey of policy responses.
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.
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.
Estimating ‘buy to leave’ in Kensington & Chelsea

Data from the latest Council Taxbase reveals Kensington & Chelsea has the highest proportion of long-term empty homes in London. Furthermore, 10% of the borough's homes are classed as 'second homes'. Chujan Sivathasan uses data from Jonathan Bourne at UCL and draws on Dr Rex Atkinson's work on 'Anchoring Wealth: The grounded impact of international wealth chains on housing markets in London'
Current Projects

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