Across the UK, hundreds of thousands of homes stand empty, while over a million households wait years for social and affordable housing. This imbalance highlights a structural problem in the nation’s housing system and points to a fundamental flaw in how housing supply is managed and utilised. Homes left empty at a time of unprecedented demand for housing represents missed opportunities to alleviate the housing crisis and change is urgently needed to address these issues.
Empty Homes on the Rise
According to the most recent Council Taxbase statistics, empty homes have continued to rise over the years. The data reveals 542,276 empty homes were recorded in 2025, an increase of nearly 8% from 2024. Of these properties, 309,856 have been left vacant for more than 6 months. When combined with second homes (268,153) and those properties with unoccupied exemptions such as ones awaiting demolition or probate to be granted (212,004), the total number of homes not in permanent use has reached 1,022,433. This represents 3.96% of all housing stock, the highest level since 2018. Some cities have particularly high vacancy rates. Research by Mortgage Lane shows the top 10 cities with the highest percentage of empty homes are:
- Aberdeen – 6.0%
- Liverpool – 5.0%
- City of London – 4.1%
- Brighton and Hove – 4.0%
- Preston – 3.9%
- Stoke-on-Trent – 3.9%
- Lincoln – 3.8%
- Canterbury – 3.7%
- Kingston upon Hull – 3.6%
- Norwich – 3.5%
Social Housing Demand at Record Levels
Meanwhile, demand for social housing has reached the highest levels in over ten years. According to Crisis, more than 1.5 million households in the UK are on waiting lists for social housing, with over 330,000 of these being in London alone. This puts local authorities and housing providers under significant pressure. Not only this, but many are left in temporary accommodation and facing uncertainty over their future living arrangements, or are struck in poor and sometimes even dangerous living conditions.
The Impact of Empty Homes
By allowing homes to sit empty for extended periods of time, they are effectively removed from the housing market. This reduces the overall supply of homes at a time when demand already far exceeds availability. This forces more people onto waitlists for social and affordable housing, worsening the housing crisis. Not only this, but empty homes can present other challenges that negatively impact on local communities. Properties that have sat empty for extended periods of time are vulnerable to anti-social behaviour including squatting and vandalism, and are at risk of pest infestations. This has a knock-on effect on surrounding areas that can often lead to devaluing neighbouring properties.
The Need for Change
In response to these issues, The Empty Homes Network and Resonance recently issued an open letter to the Minister of State for Housing, calling for the development of a national strategy to bring empty homes back into use. The letter highlights the rise in empty homes year-on-year, the need for structural policy change, and includes specific proposals such as imposing a statutory duty on local authorities to act on long-term empty homes, offering national funding initiatives, and introducing rewards tied to successful empty homes interventions such as stamp duty incentives for buyers who bring empty homes back into use. Taylor Emmet are proud to have signed this letter in support and you can read more about this here – Empty Homes: An open letter to the Minister of State for Housing | Blogs.
The Legal Reality Behind Empty Homes
While policy discussions often focus on planning and development, many empty homes arise from legal and practical barriers. Properties can remain empty for extended periods where ownership is unclear, probate has not been completed, or estates become complex or disputed. In these situations, homes are effectively removed from use not because there is no demand, but because no one has the legal authority or ability to act.
Why it Matters
Bringing empty homes back into use provides a wide variety of social and economic benefits. It helps tackle the nation’s housing crisis by addressing the underlying imbalance without the time and costs associated with developing new properties. It also eases pressure on local authorities and overstretched housing services. It can reduce homelessness and the number of people housed in temporary or unsuitable accommodation by offering secure and stable homes. Beyond this, it will help to regenerate neighbourhoods and strengthen communities.
How Taylor Emmet Can Help
At Taylor Emmet Solicitors, we have a specialist Empty Homes Team who are dedicated to supporting local authorities and private sector partners by providing practical legal solutions to bring empty properties back into use. To find out how we can help, please contact us on 0114 218 4348 or email emptyhomes@tayloremmet.co.uk