Converting empty homes 'would benefit the housing market'

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 11:17:15 GMT

Converting empty properties and bringing them back into use would help to boost the UK's dwindling housing stock, it has been claimed.

David Ireland, chief executive of the Empty Homes Agency, states that the increasing number of unused homes is a worry and steps taken to reduce this would provide a shot in the arm to the housing market.

Research from the Guardian, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that an estimated 450,000 properties in the UK have been lying empty for the last six months at the least.

"I think it is reasonable to look at how these properties can be brought back into use. If they were, then you have quite a significant contribution to housing supply and it isn't just a one-off," Mr Ireland says.

He went on to add that while converting these homes would be beneficial, the most effective way to boost the UK's housing stocks is to build more properties.


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