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BBC’s Matt Allwright Confirmed as Conference 2021 Guest Speaker

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

The Empty Homes Network is delighted to announce that TV presenter, journalist and writer Matt Allwright will be the guest speaker at this year’s Virtual National Empty Homes Conference, on Thursday 27th May, 2021.

Best known for his presenting roles on Watchdog and Rogue Traders, Matt’s more recent work has taken him into the world of local government enforcement, through programmes such as Housing Enforcers and The Empty Housing Scandal.

Empty Homes Figures Show Rise for Fourth Consecutive Year

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

Data released last week by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show a fourth consecutive annual rise in long-term empty homes across the Country, resulting in the biggest rise in figures since records began.

9 out of 10 Councils have reported rises in their empty home figures, with one Authority showing as much as a 340% rise in figures submitted in the previous year.

Director of Action on Empty Homes, Will McMahon, said:

Case Study - UK Property Rescue show how it's done, with 2-week full renovation of property during Covid-19 pandemic

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

UK Property Rescue, one of our sponsors and supporters of last year's National Empty Homes Conference, have shown how the construction industry have adapted in recent months, by completing a refurbishment turnaround of two weeks on a property on behalf of Tamworth Borough Council.

(Video & PDF case study incl. below)

Action On Empty Homes release 'Pretty Vacant' report.

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

'Pretty Vacant', a report highlighting how property investment in London is reducing access to much needed housing for locals, has been releasedm by the campaigning charity Action on Empty Homes.

Working in conjunction with the Trust for London, the report highlights:

- The inaccuracies in data from which London's Housing Policy is based on

- The variation in numbers of recorded empty and second homes between neighbouring Boroughs

Repurposing Vacant Sheltered Accommodation for Fire Safety Trials

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

With figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showing that the number of long term vacant properties across England has risen to more than 216,000, we’re looking at the highest levels of homes standing empty (for more than six months) since 2012. Economically, this accounts for around £53.6bn of property in England alone, according to an analysis carried out by modular home and school builder Project Etopia.

Empty Homes Awards 2019 - The Winners (Part 1)

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

Having had the time to reflect on this year's successful National Empty Homes Conference, it is time to celebrate the fantastic work being done across the Country, highlighted during our Annual Empty Homes Awards, presented in Birmingham.

In Part 1, we look at the stories and judges comments behind three of our winners.

Best Before and After Photograph Award - Sponsored by Auction House UK

The Empty Homes Conference 2019: Awards Extended, Delegate Spaces Still Available

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

With just over a week to go until the National Empty Homes Conference 2019, we are edging closer to capacity but there are still a few delegate spaces available, with bookings being taken up until 5pm on Tuesday 24th with the submission of a completed booking form. 

Empty Homes Awards 2019 - Open for submissions

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

We are pleased to announce that the Empty Homes Awards 2019 are now open for submissions.

There are Six Award categories this year that cover a wide range of empty homes activities. 

The Awards will be presented to the winners at the Empty Homes Conference in Birmingham on 25th September. We look forward to revealing their identifies then!

The Six Award categories and this year's Award sponsors are as follows:

Orbis Protect joins forces with E.ON to bring private homes back into use

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

Leading property protection provider Orbis Protect has joined forces with E.ON, one of the UK's top energy suppliers, to support its drive to tackle the UK’s housing shortage by bringing empty homes back into use.

Orbis Protect is partnering with E.ON on the scheme and will provide specialist clearance and cleaning of any empty properties, externally and internally.

https enabled to give users more secure access

Story submitted by DGibbens on

A more secure protocol has been implemented for accessing the EHN website

This is the 'https' or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure, replacing the previous 'http' protocol.

https is now regarded as the standard for websites that involve payments or where users enter passwords. It means all traffic from your browser to the website is encrypted.

See www.howtogeek.com/181767/htg-explains-what-is-https-and-why-should-i-care/ for further information.

2019 Conference Line-up - Updated

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

Planning and preparation is well under way for the National Empty Homes Conference, to be held in Birmingham on Wednesday 25th September, 2019.

As always, a strong and varied speaker line-up includes presentations from:

- Kerrie Eastman; Streets2Homes & Harlow Council

Using Council owned empty properties to help homelessness

Projects and Empty Homes Officers sought for the BBC's Empty Housing Scandal, Series 2

Story submitted by EHNAdmin on

Production company TwoFour are seeking Empty Homes Projects and Officers for a second series of their successful BBC1 Series, The Empty Housing Scandal.

After producing a very popular 5 episode series highlighting both the scale of the problem, as well as the incredible work done by officers up and down the Country, TwoFour have been commissioned to produce a second series, this time running for 10 episodes.

Steve Grogan, of TwoFour:

BBC - The Empty Housing Scandal

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