Government response

Response to story on empty homes

Communities Minister Stephen Williams responds to story on empty homes.

• From: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018 to 2021) and Stephen Williams
• Published: 1 February 2014

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

“We’ve supported councils so they can tackle the blight of empty homes on their streets. This includes our reforms on council tax flexibilities and the new empty homes premium, which now allows councils to remove the special tax subsidies being given to empty homes and instead use the funding to keep the overall rate of council tax down and support front-line services.

“All our measures mean that since 2010 nearly 80,000 properties have been brought back into use and councils have been rewarded through the New Homes Bonus.”

Published 1 February 2014