Southwark has over 8,500 empty homes, including 1,469 in its own property portfolio. The council must take some of the blame given its historic failure to look after its housing stock, but the problem also lies with Westminster.
There’s no doubt that Southwark Council has failed to manage its council housing portfolio in recent decades. Regardless of whether you think the Aylesbury Estate should be demolished or refurbished, the fact it contains hundreds of empty homes is farcical.
But the current Southwark administration is at least taking action on empty homes. The same can hardly be said of central government. Barring the introduction of the option to charge council tax premiums on second homes, its inaction has been mind-blowing.
Southwark’s empty council homes: Why are there so many and what’s the solution?
For example, there have long been calls for the government to prevent empty homes by supporting investment in existing homes that risk falling into disrepair. But the UK is still reeling from a coalition government that cut capital funding for affordable homes by 60 per cent. Funding has never really recovered since.
Arguably, the borough’s 6,784 privately-owned properties are an even greater indictment. Again, this is something Westminster needs to address. For example, campaign group Action on Empty Homes says local authorities should have powers to stop properties being converted into short-term lets on sites like AirBnB.
Both the Welsh and Scottish governments give their councils those powers but England’s local authorities remain hamstrung. There are roughly 2,000 Southwark properties listed on short-term letting sites.
Sadly, both Labour and the Conservatives are too weak to propose any solutions to empty homes.
Labour leader Keir Starmer is so terrified of losing the electorate’s trust that he can’t bring himself to commit to any sort of increase in public spending. Meanwhile, PM Rishi Sunak has previously promised to pursue house-building targets, only to brush them under the carpet at the first hint of unrest on the backbenches.
When over 17,000 people are on the housing list, the reality of 8,500 empty homes is shambolic. It’s about time our politicians released the handbrake and started taking this problem seriously.