20,000 homes in the capital are lying empty

MORE than 20,000 buildings which could be used to tackle London’s housing crisis have been left empty for more than six months.

In Croydon, there was a 152 per cent surge in homes left vacant for over six months between 2013 and 2014, taking the total from 294 to 741. In Islington, the figure rose from 382 to 639, in Hounslow it was up from 300 to 738, in Hammersmith and Fulham, up from 268 to 445, although in Harrow the number plunged from 356 to 81.

Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government reveal that the number of vacant or derelict properties in the capital fell from 21,852 in 2013 to 20,795 last year, a fall of 4.8 cent, but other metropolitan boroughs achieved a 7.9 per cent reduction.

Helen Williams, chief executive of the campaigning charity the Empty Homes Agency, said: “Local authorities need to work with individual owners where properties are stuck empty to encourage them to bring them back into use.”