Numbers of empty homes falls, says HCA research

The social housing regulator has surveyed all registered providers of social housing for its annual statistical data return. It found 26,156 of 1.9 million general needs homes owned by large housing associations are empty, 1.4 per cent. This compares to 1.5 per cent for homes owned by all housing associations in previous years.

Vacant supported housing and housing for older people stock fell from 5.1 per cent in 2011 to 4.4 per cent this year.

The HCA survey also found:

• Social housing providers own 2.59 million homes, a 2.4 per cent increase on its total for 2011
• The average net rent is £83.20, an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2011
• 1.9 per cent of stock did not meet the decent homes standard, down from 2.4 per cent the previous year.

Jonathan Walters, deputy director of regulatory operations at the HCA, said: ‘These data have been published as an important contribution to the regulator’s role in helping providers and others to increase understanding of the sector-wide context within which they operate, and is part of our commitment to transparency.’

Inside Housing’s  Empty Promise campaign, launched in 2009, called for more action to reduce the number of empty homes in the sector.