Blogs

Don't know about you, but my empty home complainants seem oblivious to the fact that 'normal service' isn't an on thing right now. I reckon some of them haven't clocked that Hitler invaded Poland or that England split with Rome. 

So, I can't do business properly workign at home. I'm usless. So I redeployed. Here's a little taste of what I do now.

“Redeployment with Bereavement Services. A Learning Opportunity.

Lambeth are to use 45 empty properties on regeneration estates to house homeless households for a period of up to two years.

Following the outbreak of Covid 19, the council is struggling to find self-contained accommodation for homeless households and is having to book hotel rooms to accommodate people. Housing them in empty council properties is seen as a cheaper option.

The council announced at the start of the outbreak of Covid 19 that it would suspend evictions.

You can read the full story here: 

Media Release  28^th April 2020; Embargo: 12 Noon

The empty promises at the heart of housing policy: 

New report reveals why the next 500 high rise towers won’t end London’s housing crisis and the Government action needed 

‘Pretty Vacant’, a new report launched today by Action on Empty Homes, shines a light on how property investors are reducing Londoners access to housing. 

The report reveals:

TV production company Ricochet Productions is looking for empty homes for a new TV series it is developing, aimed at teaching families new skills so they can furnish and fit out a property they then go on to live in.  So the company would love to hear from empty home officers or housing organisations with access to properties that might work for the series.

March/April 2020

I’m sitting here at my laptop in our spare room as my husband and myself are currently ‘self-isolating’ for the 14 days and like the majority of you, I’m working from home.

But after a few days of trying to get settled on what best to do, work-wise, I have come up with a few positives to motivate me.

"Homebuilding may be at a 30-year high, but experts say a rise in the number of long-term empty properties shows the wrong kind of housing is being built."

The Hackney Gazette reports on the Action on Empty Homes and the latest Government data. Hackney has seen a 24% rise ion the last year with 1 in 100 homes now empty.

Action on Empty Hones Campaigns manager Chris Bailey says:

"There is speculation unsold newbuilds are contributing, alongside a general slowing of the housing market lowering transactions.

I am finally emerging from the major transformation our council has been going (and is still going) through. I feel like a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis! Although our new roles don’t begin till January 2020, I understand that I will be continuing empty homes work but under the job title of Case Management instead of Empty Homes Officer. Phew!

"General Election 2019: Lib Dems pledge 500% council tax rise for people who keep houses empty

Landlords and property owners who fuel the housing crisis by keeping property empty should pay for the damage they are causing society, ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has said.

Unveiling plans that would let local authorities raise council tax on houses left empty long term by 500%, the Liberal Democrats said empty homes were “tearing apart” communities across the country."

The GMB Union London Region has decided to make empty homes a campaigning issue. The story begins here:

"The incredible number of empty homes in each London borough and staggering housing waiting lists

In some boroughs, vacant homes could fill more than 40 percent of people waiting for homes

It doesn't take a lot to see the signs of London's housing crisis. Just one glance at the window of an estate agent is enough.

Anyone who has tried to get accommodation for themselves or their families in London knows what an abject nightmare it can be.