Why empty homes matter

There are too many homes lying empty

Latest Government data shows that over 216,000 homes in England have been empty for over six months. In all, over 600,000 homes are currently vacant.

Leaving homes empty is a waste

We believe that we cannot afford to waste such properties. England needs over 300,000 additional homes each year.

Bringing empty homes into use helps neighbourhoods

There are neighbourhoods with clusters of empty homes. Tackling empty homes in these areas should be part of wider neighbourhood initiatives that start from the perspective of the issues people face there.

It makes environmental sense

Creating homes from empty properties saves substantial amounts of material compared to building new homes, minimises the amount of land used for development and avoids wasting embedded carbon; helping to combat climate change.

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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.