FMB: Empty homes are key to shortage

Britain's 700,000 empty homes offer the solution to any housing shortage, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

While the government has committed to building two million new homes by 2016, with a further one million, carbon neutral, properties added by 2020, this target is growing increasingly unrealistic.

Indeed, it appears housebuilding may even be slowing in the present climate.

Last week housebuilder Persimmon announced it would not be beginning any new projects at present, following a 24 per cent slump in properties.

Shares in home building companies have also continued to fall, while the Office for National Statistics (ONS) finds demand for new-build properties has fallen 27 per cent.

But as the market stalls the FMB argues empty homes could offer at least pert of the solution.

"We’re not on course to build three million new homes by 2020 and what the government should be thinking about is looking at empty homes in this country," said Brian Berry, director of external affairs at FMB.

"We’ve got about 700,000 empty homes in England and we need to look at more creative ways to bring redundant buildings back into use because that is more sustainable than creating sustainable communities."

Research from the Empty Homes Agency (EHA) from 2006 showed there were 663,328 empty homes in England - 3.06 per cent of all homes - and 593,487 of them were owned by a private landlord.

Furthermore, a Halifax survey, published in December 2007, found that 288,763 private homes in England in April 2006 had been empty for at least six months – equivalent to 1.6 per cent of all privately owned houses – however this was down 0.2 per cent from the 308,483 recorded in April 2003.

Chris O'Toole