Trade association Propertymark has asked the UK government to reintroduce the Empty Homes Programme and bring unoccupied homes into use.
This follows research from the House Buyer Bureau which found that 676,000 homes in England were unoccupied, accounting for 2.7 per cent of homes worth £212bn.
Its analysis found that the worst affected region was the North East where 3.3 per cent of homes were empty, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber where three per cent of properties were unoccupied.
The Empty Homes Programme ran from 2012 to 2015 and funding was issued to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing.
Propertymark calls on UK Government to reintroduce Empty Homes Programme
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said: “Propertymark has long called for the UK government to build more social houses, and with a general election looming round the corner, this is their opportunity to show that they are serious about tackling the housing crisis.
“We call on the UK government to commit to reintroducing the Empty Homes Programme so that England’s empty housing stock can be utilised more effectively.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
