Empty Properties (Hansard, 11 July 2002)

§ Mr. McNulty

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data for local authority (LA), Registered Social Landlord (RSL) and 'other' private sector tenures is available and shown in the tables. Length of time 'other' public sector dwellings are vacant is not collected centrally.

Table 1: Number of LA vacant dwellings in England at 1 April
	All vacants	Vacant more than 6 months and less than 12 months	Vacant more than 12 months
2001	80,300	11,100	20,400
2000	87,200	11,700	21,500
1999	83,900	10,600	18,100
1998	81,700	10,600	16,000
1997	81,200	9,400	13,000

Table 2: Number of RSL vacant dwellings in England at 1 April
	All vacants	Vacant more than 6 months and less than 12 months	Vacant more than 12 months
2001	41,300	5,100	9,800
2000	37,500	5,100	7,200
1999	32,600	3,800	3,500
1998	29,300	4,100	4,800
1997	26,800	¹—	¹—
¹ Not applicable

Data for 'other' private sector vacant dwellings are not collected in exactly the same format as for LA and RSL dwellings. Only data on dwellings vacant for more than six to 12 months are collected (as opposed to data on those dwellings vacant for more than six, but less than 12 months).

Table 3: Number of 'other' private sector vacant dwellings in England at 1 April
	All vacants	Vacant more than 6 months	Vacant more than 12 months
2001	622,600	310,200	—¹
2000	623,200	278,900	201,900
1999	63,700	—¹	212,900
1998	623,300	—¹	220,100
1997	640,200	—¹	233,300
¹ Not available

Notes:

1. Figures rounded to the nearest 100.

2. There will always be a certain level of empty homes for operational reasons, including those waiting to be demolished or those vacant for very short periods between tenants.

Sources:

ODPM's annual Housing Investment Programme (HIP) returns (Tables 1 and 3) and the Housing Corporation's annual HAR 10 and Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) (Table 2)