Roughly 8,588 Southwark homes lie empty despite the fact that over 16,000 people are on the council’s housing waiting list, according to a Southwark Council report.
Southwark Council says “the numbers appear to be moving in the direction” because this is less than the 9,125 empty homes recorded in October last year.
These figures have been released by the council a year after it adopted its ‘Empty Homes Action Plan’ and announced a “zero tolerance” approach to empty housing.
The plan, approved by cabinet in October 2021, recommended the council adopt a series of measures to tackle the empty homes crisis.
Among its measures, the plan recommended using mechanisms which allow the council to forcibly manage or own empty properties. These mechanisms include Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) and Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs).
It also recommended improving the data on empty homes and incentivising property owners to let their homes to homeless families through the council’s social lettings agency.
While the fall in empty homes indicates some success, the vast majority of homes uninhabited last year remain as such.
Of the 8,588 empty homes, 6,874 of these are privately owned while 1,714 are owned by the council.
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Of the empty 6,874 private homes, 2,457 are furnished but unoccupied. This is an important distinction because these properties are often regarded as ‘second homes’.
As a result, local authorities have fewer powers to pressure owners into letting them because it’s more difficult to impose measures like council tax premiums.
The report said the council had surveyed owners to find out why their properties had remained empty.
48 per cent of residents said that the home was empty due to works being needed. Of these, two thirds indicated they needed significant renovation.
The remainder indicated they needed minor works and 31 per cent said that the home was up for sale.
Less than half of owners said they wanted help from the council in bringing their homes back into use.
Of those who said they were interested in help, they tended to want rental guarantees and cash incentives.
The council has resolved to improve its “marketing material” as it already incentivising owners to let their homes through measures like rental guarantees and cash incentives.
