Mayor urged to intervene in empty homes problem

London's empty homes problem must be addressed as part of efforts to ease the housing crisis, the London Assembly has been told.

There were more than 105,000 empty homes in the capital last year, according to recent data analysis, accounting for 2.7 per cent of the total number of homes in London - an 81% increase on the number in 2016.

According to the London Plan, councils should make "efficient use of existing housing stock" but campaigners have said the mayor must directly intervene to help boroughs fill empty homes.

City Hall declined to comment specifically, but said it aimed to refurbish up to 500 empty homes as part of the mayor's wider strategy to end rough sleeping.

According to government data analysed by London Assembly researchers:

• The number of empty properties in the capital has risen from 58,096 in the year Sir Sadiq Khan took office in 2016, to 105,138 in 2025
• Approximately 2% of these are owned by local councils - a higher proportion than any other UK region
• The number of council-owned homes left empty has risen by 66% since 2016
• The number of empty homes in London equates to 1 in 37

Sam Bloomer, policy officer at Shelter, said filling properties such as these was a "cost-effective, green and fast" way to boost the affordable homes supply in the capital.

"You can retrofit and convert an empty home in eight months," he told a London Assembly housing committee meeting.

At the meeting, some panellists said a large number of empty homes had never been lived in as they had been built by developers and priced at a figure that most Londoners could never afford.

Chris Bailey, director of policy and campaigns at Action on Empty Homes, a non-profit organisation, said: "We're in the bizarre situation in London that there are empty new-build homes – we are building homes that are too expensive, but the demand is for affordable housing.

"Empty homes are not a silver bullet, but they are one lever we can pull," he said.

Tara Clinton, an associate at consultants Arup, said bringing five per cent of empty homes back into use would be equivalent to the current construction rate for social housing.

She said: "The opportunity is often compared to the overall target. While that is valid, it's important to compare it against current rates of delivery."

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