The housing crisis rages on in the UK, so the news that over £43 billion worth of property in England alone stand empty is guaranteed to cause frustration.
In London alone - one of the most inflated and in-demand property markets in the world - nearly 20,000 homes worth over £9.4 billion were empty, with some being occupied by squatters.
The next most affected area, Birmingham, has nearly 5,000 empty properties, worth almost £1 billion. The price disparity is theorised due to the second home culture of London. Statistics to support this include the larger portion of London's problem properties being in the affluent area of Kensington and Chelsea, where "the super rich reject renting them out or selling up in favour of leaving their properties idle".
A clear example of this potential waste and solution is the £15 million central London property, allegedly owned by a wealth Russian oligarch. It has since been taken over by squatters to provide a homeless shelter.
Actions taken to reduce the property waste of these empty homes include reduced tax incentives for buying property and increased council tax on second properties.
Whilst some areas such as London and Birmingham see a continued rise in these empty properties despite these measures, Manchester has seen an 88% fall in these properties over the last decade to only 1,365 empty homes.
