Large drop in empty UK homes put down to demolition write-offs, says charity.
A dramatic fall in the number of empty homes may have been caused by councils writing off properties previously earmarked for demolition under the housing market renewal programme.
The charity Empty Homes says a 4 per cent drop in the number of vacant dwellings in England between 2009 and 2010 is too good to be true and that some of the biggest reductions occurred in areas with large numbers of homes due for demolition under the HMR programme. In reality, many of these properties may remain standing for years because the coalition government ended the programme early, suggests the charity.
Figures based on the council tax register in each authority show there were 738,414 homes standing empty last year – down 32,247 on the previous year. This follows a fall of 12,458 between 2008 and 2009.
The largest single fall was in Manchester, where the council tax register shows the number of vacant homes down by 2,188 to 12,300. A council spokesperson said the reduction was due to a combination of homes being demolished and previously vacant properties being reoccupied.
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