Use empty homes

Use empty homes. That's the cheapest, fastest way to start tackling the housing crisis.

For too long, housing policy has been on the backburner. Yet getting more affordable homes is now central to improving public services like the NHS, schools and police.

So what's Government doing? This week the Deputy Prime Minister unveiled his "Communities Plan". It included plans to build new homes in areas like Thames Gateway and ideas for the different problems of some northern cities, where there are empty homes no one wants.

Yet using empty homes in London and the South East - homes people do want - should have been more central to Ministers' thinking. Even in our region, there are more empty homes than homeless people. The charity Empty Homes Agency estimates even Kingston has over 1,100 empty homes. Over 50% empty for 6 months plus.

To turn this round, councils must manage their homes better - but 90% of Kingston's empty properties are in the private sector.

So councils must push voluntary agreements, encouraging owners of empty properties to renovate for affordable renting. Government should introduce "empty property management orders", so councils could ultimately force intransigent owners of long term vacant properties to lease them. Compulsory leasing with appropriate safeguards is less draconian than compulsory purchase, but potentially more effective.

We must use these empty homes. They are a scandal.