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Written question asked by Margaret Moran (Labour) on Friday, 19 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 February 2010. It was answered by Lord Austin of Dudley (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 March 2010 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Rented Housing: Empty Property

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) local authority-owned, (b) registered social landlord-managed and (c) privately-owned homes were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years; how many and what proportion of privately-owned homes in each local authority area were empty in each of the last 10 years; how many privately-owned homes were returned to habitation in each of the last 10 years; how many Empty Homes Management orders have been (i) applied for and (ii) completed since such orders were introduced; what discussions he has had with the Empty Homes Agency on its proposals for a homesteading scheme; what assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of the introduction of such a scheme in reducing the number of empty homes; what estimate he has made of the cost of such a scheme in its first 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Answer

Information on the number of (a) local authority-owned homes that were empty for more than six months and (c) privately-owned homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years can be found in the tables published on the Local Authority Housing Strategy and Business Plan Data page of the Communities and Local Government website at the following link. These tables present data collected in the annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and Business Planning Statistical Appendix (BPSA). Figures for some years, including 2009, may be unavailable due to changes in the format and detail of the forms used to collect these data.Information on the number and proportion of privately-owned homes in each local authority area that were empty in each of the last 10 years can also be found in the HSSA-based tables at the same link. Figures for some years, including 2009, may be unavailable due to changes in the format and detail of the forms used to collect these data."http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/localauthorityhousing/"These data can only be collated and presented in a single set of tables and provided in the answer to this parliamentary question at disproportionate cost.Information on (b) the number of registered social landlord-managed homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years, and homes that were empty for more than six months in each of the last 10 years and on the number of privately-owned homes that were returned to habitation in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally.To date, 29 Interim Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) have been approved by the Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS) since the legislation came into effect in April 2006. Information on the number of Empty Dwelling Management Orders applied for is not held centrally.My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing met with the Empty Homes Agency on 2 September 2009 and discussed a range of issues including homesteading but no formal proposals have been submitted.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
506 c1158-9W; 318527
Session
2009-10
Subjects
Empty property
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk