Residents of Westminster could report their rich neighbours for leaving homes vacant for more than six months under new plans.
Under the measures, locals will be asked to report homes that are lived in less than half the year by dialling a special hotline number.
Homeowners will also be encouraged to “make empty space available for rent” and will be discouraged from buying property in the borough for holiday homes.
It comes as the authority’s council tax data shows a 123 per cent increase in the number of long-term empty residential properties (LTEP) between 2021 and 2022.
The real number is expected to be higher than the 1,150 properties recorded for this period due to previous reliance on self-reporting, according to the council.
The same data shows that more affluent wards, such as Knightsbridge and Belgravia, have the highest number of empty properties, the council said.
Research conducted by the GLA suggests that LTEP in London are complicated by interrelated issues of second homes and potential Buy to Leave investments. Property in Westminster is among the most expensive in the UK.
Westminster will introduce an empty property officer to help fully unpick why so many homes in prime locations have been left vacant in recent years.
The council said current local authority powers to tackle the vacant properties are “limited and restrictive” and promised to lobby government for greater powers to bring empty homes back into use.
It said its new approach will aim to bring homes back into use by increasing housing supply, especially in the private rented sector, and to improve knowledge of LTEP and how to tackle them, through an alliance of stakeholders.
Adam Hug, Leader of Westminster City Council, said: “In some respects, having some of the country’s most desirable postcodes is a good problem to have. It’s great that people from across the world invest in our city but the rise in vacant homes is alarming and we know the current figures are likely to underestimate the problem.
“For many, the thought of so many homes in Westminster sitting empty, essentially left to rot, while thousands wait for housing, will be hard to swallow.
“These measures are an important first step in tackling the issue of empty houses in Westminster, where absentee international investment can hollow out our communities and waste a vital supply of homes.
“Our current powers are blunt instruments. We need to gain a better understanding of the problem and make it desirable to rent vacant property while penalising those who leave much-needed homes empty.”
