Big Issue founder leads call for a national empty homes strategy: 'A completely wasted resource'

Big Issue founder Lord John Bird has called on the government to introduce a new strategy to fill up empty homes in a bid to address homelessness.

The crossbench peer led a debate in the House of Lords on Thursday (17 September), urging ministers to come up with a plan to bring more than 309,000 long-term empty homes in England back into use.

Lord Bird told peers: “When the Big Issue started, 35 years ago, we were very involved in the empty homes movement because we could see, not just from our own experience, that this was a completely wasted resource and that society should grasp it and do two things. One is to house people, and the other is to get rid of waste, get rid of redundant property.”

Under Keir Starmer, the Labour government set a target of building 1.5 million homes while in power.

Work continues to boost housebuilding under Andy Burnham’s premiership but housing secretary Angela Rayner told the BBC last week that the 1.5 million target is considered a “stretch goal”. Rayner admitted there is only a “slim chance” ministers will hit it.

Successive governments’ failure to build enough social housing has led to a long-running housing crisis. That has seen 135,580 households living in temporary accommodation, costing local authorities almost £3 billion a year, as was revealed on the same day as the Lords debate.

Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million households are sitting on local authority social housing waiting lists.

That reality has inspired Lord Bird to call for action on empty homes.

Read more:

• Why are homes left empty in the UK and how can we fill them up?
• Half a million empty homes are ‘hiding in plain sight’. Here’s how to unlock them
• Letters: Repeal squatting laws. The crime is leaving homes empty, not their occupation

The Big Issue founder has argued that refurbishing empty homes and bringing them back into use is the quickest, most cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way to increase the supply of affordable housing. 

An estimated 2.6 empty homes can be brought back into use for the cost of every newbuild home, according to Big Issue research.

Back in February, Big Issue was among 25 cross-sector organisations that signed an open letter urging housing minister Matthew Pennycook to launch a national strategy on empty homes.

There has not been a centralised empty homes strategy since the days of the coalition government back in the early 2010s.

Instead, local councils now have powers to bring empty homes back into use, including through doubling council tax premiums, empty dwelling management orders or even compulsory purchase orders.

Speaking in the debate, Lib Dem peer Baroness Thornhill said there are existing powers to take action on empty homes but they are “slow, complex, resource-intensive and require a lot of evidence-gathering, legal processes and definitely officers’ time”.

She added: “The problem is not always lack of powers, it is often the gap between having the powers and being able to use them effectively.”

The government rejected Lord Bird’s call for a national empty homes strategy, arguing that “empowering and encouraging councils” to act alongside national powers and funding would be more effective than a “one-size-fits-all national strategy”.

Baroness Sharon Taylor, representing the government in the debate, said: “Today’s debate has shown our shared determination to tackle homelessness and make better use of existing housing stock. There is never any argument about that among any of the political parties.”

She added: “Let me first be clear that our government share the objective of the noble Lord, Lord Bird; bringing empty homes back into use can provide homes for people who need them, support regeneration and help to relieve pressure on local housing markets.

“But recognising the importance of the issue does not necessarily mean that a new national strategy is the right response.”

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