UK’s ’empty houses capital’ as one space has 2,000 unoccupied properties
The Greater London borough tops a list of locations with the most vacant homes – highlighting how the blight on Britain’s communities spans rich and poor areas alike.
The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames is today crowned the nation’s Empty Homes capital with some 2,000 unoccupied properties.
The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames has been crowned the nation’s “Empty Homes” capital with some 2,000 unoccupied properties. The Greater London borough tops a list of locations with the most vacant homes – highlighting how the blight on Britain’s communities spans rich and poor areas alike.
There are an estimated 265,000 homes that have been empty for more than six months in the UK at any one time, according to Empty Property Hunters.
Britain is in the midst of a housing crisis and the London-based firm is on a mission to rid the nation of unoccupied homes, working with an army of ‘hunters’ to spot empty properties.
Hunters are paid £20 for every confirmed property they report. If Empty Property Hunters go on to sell the property, they stand to make 1% of the purchase price. Second on the list is the exclusive borough of Kensington and Chelsea – home to celebs and VIPS, the UK’s most expensive place to live where average homes cost £1.25million.
Meanwhile, the nation’s cheapest place to buy a home, Burnley – where average homes cost £128,826 – makes the bottom of the top 10 list. Granted its royal title in 1927, first place Kingston is steeped in history and is home to some of the county’s best schools, a university and huge shopping centre.
Average house prices are £572,000 and while average salaries sit around £48,000, the affluent borough is a popular commuter hub for London’s high-powered execs and officials. A detached house in the trendy southwest borough would set you back an eye-watering £1.26million while a humble terrace nearly £600,000 in today’s market.
But, behind the prestigious façade hides another story. Nestled amongst the six-figure town houses and trendy riverside flat lie vacant properties that no one currently call home. Of the borough’s roughly 70,500 dwellings, some 2.8% are believed to be unoccupied, suggesting some 1,974 homes are currently without occupants.
One such home found on Canbury Park Road in the borough has stood empty for around a decade, becoming ever more overgrown and weather-worn with each passing year. The inside is piled high with boxes and belongings, a lifetime’s worth of wares left to gather dust in the home neighbours say is little more than a forgotten storage facility.
Meanwhile, in one of London’s most prestigious addresses, just a stone’s throw from world famous Harrods in Knightsbridge, sits another empty home. Refurbishment has stalled at the five-storey townhouse on Trevor Square, with little visible activity for several months, according to Empty Property Hunters. And, over in Burnley, a two-bed terrace is now boarded up after being broken into and fires started since standing empty following the death of its owner.
Empty Property Hunters founder Simon Taylor said: “Rich area, poor area empty homes are found in all corners of the country, proving no neighbourhood is immune. “From stalled building projects and hoarder houses to once-loved homes that have become a target for vandals, empty properties are a problem we can all help to fix.
“If you’re aware of a vacant home, or spot one while you’re out and about, get in touch – you could make an easy £20 – and stand to rake in even more we go on to buy it.”
The Daily Star’s Sherlock Homes campaign
The Daily Star has launched a campaign to recruit an army of “Sherlock Homes” sleuths to find the more than a QUARTER OF A MILLION long-term empty homes in Britain – and help bring them back into use.
You can become an amateur detective to identify unloved properties across the UK and help ease the country’s housing crisis.
How to report
To report an empty residential property visit emptypropertyhunters.co.uk/dailystar
