HC Deb 19 July 1979 vol 970 cc804-6W
Mr. Michael Brown

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the percentage of the total housing stock in Great Britain represented by (a) privately rented property, (b) council houses and (c) owner-occupied property.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

Following are the available estimates:

STOCK OF DWELLINGS: BY TENURE: GREAT

BRITAIN—DECEMBER 1978
Percentage
Rented from private owners, housing associations, by virtue of employment or with farms or business premises 14
Rented from a local authority or new town corporation 32
Owner occupied 54

Mr. Marlow

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the reasons why the crude surplus of dwellings has increased from 0.9 per cent. in 1966 to 4.5 per cent. of the housing stock in 1978; and what proposals he has for bringing the bulk of these 900,000 dwellings into use.

Mr. Stanley

The most recent official figures for England relate to the end of 1977 and indicate a crude surplus in England of dwellings over households, including households which share, of 2.3 per cent.—400,000 dwellings; they also show that there were at the end of 1977 some 729,000 vacant dwellings and second homes. After allowing for the number of properties already undergoing conversion and improvement and an estimated 120,000 second homes, the national dwelling and housing survey estimate of vacant dwellings is 480,000–2.8 per cent. of the total housing stock. This includes those temporarily vacant because of movement between houses as well as housing of bad quality or badly located.

In order to encourage the occupation of vacant dwellings we shall introduce a scheme for shorthold lettings and new legislation on private sector improvement work. It is for local authorities to minimise empty housing in their own stock and I am consulting the local authority associations about the possibility of asking authorities to include reference to this in their housing investment programme submissions.

We should receive later this year the report of the vacant property survey, a national survey of the characteristics of vacant properties undertaken for the Department by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. We shall then consider the need for further measures.