This figure, provided by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), indicate that with Governmental help "homes could be found for most, if not all" of the 1.6 million households on council waiting lists.
Local Authorities have the power to issue "Empty Dwelling Management Orders" on properties that have been vacant for six months or longer. These allow councils to bring homes back into use without forcing a change of ownership. But for some, six months is too long. “Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless or suffering from poor living conditions," says RICS policy Officer, James Rowlands.
"The Government must use all its powers to bring these homes back into use by reducing VAT on repair of buildings and reinforcing council powers.” This reduction would make it more attractive for empty property owners to rent their properties. VAT has already been cut on properties unoccupied for two years, but RICS are calling for the Government to go further and offer the discount to all properties.
Squatters Estate Agency
While the government rouses itself into action, those desperate for somewhere to live are taking more immediate measures. Following in the footsteps of the short-lived Squatters Estate Agency set up in Brighton in 1996, Shoreditch in Central London was the next to provide a similar service. The Agency, itself run from a derelict warehouse, issues lists of abandoned flats and houses, derelict council properties and empty buildings. The properties cannot be damaged in any way and access can't be forced, but apart from that, occupying them is perfectly legal.
Public Responsibility
It's not just those without homes whom the issue of vacant property affects. The Government itself admits that empty houses "detract from the quality of the local environment and can cause significant problems for local residents". RICS estimates that properties adjoining poorly maintained empty properties can be devalued by 18 per cent. Last month, the Empty Homes Agency urged the public to inform councils of properties which had been unoccupied for six months to allow them to take action.
Those looking to buy property can also help. Local councils should have a list of all the empty properties in the area which can be requested of them under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Many of these will be registered at the Land Registry and, for a small fee, the register can be viewed and the owners tracked down.
It's not a flippant gesture that the human right to adequate housing has a central place within the body of human rights in general. For so many to be unnecessarily denied this most basic of needs is surprising to say the least. "The Government keeps talking about the need to build millions of new houses to cope with the housing shortage," said James from the Squatters Estate Agency ('Estate agents' offer empty homes for squat," The Daily Mail, 27 April 2008). "They could turn existing empty buildings into new houses instead."
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