Empty homes in Liverpool are on the rise, according to new data, despite renters finding it increasingly difficult to find rented accommodation across Merseyside.
A total of 5,186 properties in Liverpool are classed as long-term empty homes (LTEHs), according to new research by Action on Empty Homes. The figure is a hike of 6.3% from 2021.
An LTEH is defined as a property that has been empty for more than six months and doesn’t have a statutory exemption from council tax. Liverpool now has more LTEHs than any other local authority area in England, apart from Birmingham, which has 5,186.
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A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: "The vast majority of vacant properties in Liverpool are in private ownership, which presents a number of challenges in how they can be developed.
"The city council has less than 100 empty homes and many of these have been identified to be transferred under a new community led housing programme. Officers are also working on a new empty homes strategy for the city which is scheduled to go out for consultation in the new year."
Rebecca Koncienzcy lives in Merseyside with husband Sean Chapman and sons Rory and Logan. They started out renting a three-bedroom house for £525 a month, which went up to £550 in 2019.
When on the hunt for a new home last year, the family found prices had jumped to between £625 and £750, with some even climbing to more than £1,000. Rebecca said: "We wondered how people could even possibly afford to live in them."
She added: "Every estate agent we dealt with worked in a different way to the last, there was no one way to view or apply for a house to rent. There were waiting lists to get on the list to view houses, and I was once told there were 50-100 people waiting to just view a house.
"After having to view a house on my own during my lunch break I had decided it was the one for us - nicely carpeted, clean white walls, close to family... So as I walked out of the road I emailed the estate agent straight away to say we were interested and wanted to make an application. Two hours later I received an email back saying it was gone."
Empty homes can be properties that are unlived in but are fully furnished, and include homes used as short lets, or Airbnbs. Across the country, there are now 257,331 long-term empty homes.
Chris Bailey is national campaign manager for Action on Empty Homes. He said the data is "shocking" after "more than a decade of intense housing crisis".
"Another 20,000 more wasted empties, while nearly 100,000 families are trapped in temporary accommodation, costing the nation one and a half billion pounds a year," he added.
"This is good money wasted on often extremely poor quality housing. Homeless families need genuinely affordable lifetime homes. A new national empty homes programme is long overdue – the government needs to step up to the plate and offer funding and incentives to get these homes back into use."
Last week, the ECHO reported that Liverpool City Council is working with Merseyside Police to shut down private rented properties causing "misery" for local communities. The addresses in Anfield and Wavertree were linked with "anti-social behaviour and criminality".
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