Government urged to use empty homes

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The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said there were about 762,635 properties in the UK not being used, while there were 1.6 million families on council house waiting lists.

It said homes could be found for most of these people if the Government took steps to convert empty properties back into homes.

The group said that while the Government had announced a raft of measures to help homeowners avoid having their properties repossessed, little was being done to help people who did not have a home.

Local authorities have powers to issue Empty Dwelling Management Orders on properties that have been vacant for at least six months, but the RICS said it needed to make it more attractive for the owners of empty properties to rent them out.

It suggested it could do this by reducing VAT on renovations and repairs from 15% to 5%.

The Government has already done this for properties that have been empty for more than two years, but RICS said it now needed to go further and offer this discount on all properties.

RICS policy officer James Rowlands said: "Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless or suffering from poor living conditions.

"The Government must use all its powers to bring these homes back into use by reducing VAT on repair of buildings and reinforcing council powers.

"Rather than allowing homes to sit empty, everyone should be able to celebrate Christmas in a home of their own."