According to the Empty Homes Agency (EHA) the number of empty homes in England has risen for the first time in nine years. The figures show a rise of nearly 10,000 increasing the total number of empty homes to 672,924.

The statistics showed regional variations in the percentage of empty homes with the largest number being in the north, especially the north-west where 4.18% of homes stand empty. The lowest percentage of empty homes was in the south-east with only 2.35%.

David Ireland, chief executive of the EHA, told PIN: “The largest percentage of empty homes are found in the northern, bigger cities, where there is a high vacancy rate in new build flats due to an oversupply of similar accommodation built in a short period of time. Although this can account for the rise, the major problem is still older homes which make up the bulk of empty homes.”

Due to how the figures are collected, those recently released by the EHA are for the period of 2006/7 and therefore predate the credit crunch. When looking at the previous year Ireland said: “I anticipate a rise when these figure are released, these results are likely to be a trend rather than a blip.”

There have been many media reports regarding buy-to-leave over recent months, but Ireland does not believe that this is the huge problem it has been made out to be. He said: “Empty homes are an effect of a wider downturn in the market. Local authorities need to be more strategic with their powers, focusing their compulsory powers on those homes that will not come back into use by any other means. They should then promote voluntary solutions to landlords, who need clear advice and reassurance about bringing a home back into use.”