\u00a0\u201cIn 2026, our focus is on the opportunity which empty homes represent, to offer hope for the future. But that hope will be in vain while government continue to tie the council\u2019s hands with weak powers and a focus on building homes that we won\u2019t see for years, without getting the homes we already have occupied and upgraded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n How many empty homes are there in Wales?<\/p>\n More than 22,000 homes are empty for more than six months in Wales at a time when one in every 14 households in Wales is currently waiting for a social home. The Bevan Foundation<\/a> has suggested a shortage of social housing in the country could be solved by using existing homes and buildings.<\/p>\n In Wales, there are currently 6,285 people living in temporary accommodation while they wait to be housed, including 2,500 children.<\/p>\n To help tackle this, the Welsh government has been working towards the delivery of 20,000 new social homes during the current Senedd term. But with housebuilding levels slumping, attentions should turn to existing properties instead, the think tank said.<\/p>\n There were 22,528 homes in Wales empty for six months or more in 2025-26 and up to 4,500 could be suitable for purchase as social homes, according to Bevan Foundation analysis.<\/p>\n A further 60,000 homes sold off under the Right to Buy scheme<\/a>, which was abolished in Wales in 2019, could be purchased by social landlords.<\/p>\n There are also opportunities to buy homes from second home owners as well as holiday lets and private landlords looking to sell following greater regulations.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Wendy Dearden, senior policy and research officer at the Bevan Foundation, said: \u201cIt cannot be right that, tonight, thousands of families across Wales will go to bed in cramped, unsuitable rooms in B&Bs while perfectly good houses sit empty across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cAs homelessness and waiting lists for housing continue to grow, it\u2019s clear that Wales\u2019s housing crisis can\u2019t be fixed by building alone. We need to look at how we can use the stock we already have \u2013 whether that\u2019s by refurbishing empty homes and buildings or purchasing ex-council houses and privately-rented homes \u2013 to provide social homes at the scale that\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Dearden added that regulations would need to change to scale up efforts and more funding would be needed.<\/p>\n Changes included amending land transaction tax to exempt social landlords and community groups repurposing homes and the Welsh working with the Westminster to review VAT rules.<\/p>\n \u201cIn our research, we found great examples of local practice, and a real enthusiasm to bring existing properties into use,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n How many empty homes are there in Scotland?<\/p>\n In Scotland, 44,453 privately owned homes have sat empty for more than six months as of September 2025. Of those, 32,337 have lay vacant for over 12 months.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n That was an increase of 915 homes over the previous year, according to figures published by the Scottish government<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) has called for continued investment and strategic working to realise the potential of the thousands of properties lying empty across the country.<\/p>\n The group, which formed in 2010, has brought 13,000 homes back into use.<\/p>\n But, like in Wales and England, housebuilding levels remain low. The Scottish government has previously declared a housing emergency and pledged to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.<\/p>\n Five years into the programme, 32,479 homes have been built. With 36,000 more by 2030 promised in the most recent comprehensive spending review, Shelter Scotland estimated 41,521 would have be built in the last two years to hit the milestone.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where turning to vacant properties could help.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Tahmina Nizam, Scottish Empty Homes Partnership<\/a> national manager, said: \u201cIn councils across the country, dedicated empty homes officers are working hard to bring empty homes back into use. The figures are a reminder of just how important that work is.<\/p>\n \u201cNo home was built to sit empty, and we simply can\u2019t afford to let these vital assets go to waste. Bringing empty properties back into use is a cost-effective way to ease housing pressures; in many cases it will be the simplest, quickest, way to expand local affordable and social housing stock.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n What are the solutions to empty homes?<\/p>\n Bringing homes left empty back into use<\/a> is often the responsibility of local authorities.<\/p>\n Councils in England can charge higher rates of council tax for properties left unfurnished and unoccupied to encourage owners to bring them back into use.<\/p>\n That means council tax can double after a home is left empty for one year, rising to 200% for a home unoccupied for five years and 300% for more than a decade.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n The Welsh government\u2019s national empty homes grant scheme offers homeowners up to \u00a325,000 to renovate properties, making them energy efficient and suitable to live in.<\/p>\n There is a \u00a32 million loan fund in Scotland for acquiring and refurbishing empty homes.<\/p>\n But Propertymark research<\/a>, which quizzed 226 councils in England, Scotland and Wales through freedom of information requests, found that only 38% of councils have an empty homes strategy in place and just 41% have at least one dedicated empty homes officer.<\/p>\n Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at property agents body Propertymark, said: \u201cLong-term empty properties are a visible reminder of a system that is not working as effectively as it should. At a time when housing demand continues to outstrip supply, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes unused is neither economically nor socially sustainable.<\/p>\n \u201cOur research shows that while governments across the UK have introduced a range of measures, too many local authorities lack the dedicated resources, funding and strategic framework needed to deliver meaningful change. Financial penalties alone will not solve the problem. What works is sustained local engagement, professional advice, and properly funded empty homes teams that can support owners through the process of bringing properties back into use.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Change a vendor\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Buy from your local Big Issue vendor every week \u2013 and always take the magazine. It\u2019s how vendors earn with dignity and move forward.<\/p>\n You can also support online:\u00a0Subscribe to the magazine<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0support our work with a monthly gift<\/a>. Your support helps vendors earn, learn and thrive while strengthening our frontline services.<\/p>\n Thank you for standing with Big Issue vendors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAction on Empty Homes see empty homes both as a sign of what is wrong and as an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5998,173,5999,149,154,1143,4865,5,6,38],"class_list":{"0":"post-12692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-empty-homes","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-explained","11":"tag-homelessness","12":"tag-housing","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-temporary-accommodation","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116395907675208039","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776060517_614_35-birthday-subs_FINAL_v3_800x250.jpg\")
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