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Written question asked by Lord Bird (Crossbench) on Monday, 18 May 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Affordable Housing: Empty Property

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to understand how the building of 1.5 million new affordable homes is likely to impact on the number of empty homes; and what precautions are in place to prevent the number of empty homes rising.

Answer

The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use. But the sheer scale of the housing crisis demands historic levels of housebuilding, which is why we have committed to building 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.

The government does not publish correspondence relating to the location of empty homes in the UK. Statistics on empty properties in England are published annually and can be found on gov.uk here (attached).

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL174
Session
2026-27
Attachment
Statistics on empty properties in England
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Empty property Affordable housing
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk