NUE – Empty Homes Week

The week is organised by Action on Empty Homes.

The aim of the week is to highlight Empty Homes and the work we and our district partners in Kent undertake to minimise and reduce the number of long-term empty dwellings.

Over the last 5 years the number of long-term vacant dwellings in Kent has fallen by 2.3%, nationally they increased by 0.1%. Long-term means those dwellings that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for over six months.

Latest Council Tax records show there are a total of 17,223 vacant dwellings in Kent (KCC area) and a further 3,393 vacant dwellings in the Medway Unitary area. This figure includes all tenures (Local Authority, Housing Association and Private sector); although many empty properties are privately owned. Within this total were 6,172 long term vacant dwellings in Kent and Medway (5,028 in Kent and 1,114 in the Medway Council area).

Empty Homes are a wasted resource for the community in times of high cost and pressure on both the local rental and sale markets. Empty homes can encourage littering, fly tipping, antisocial behaviour and detrimentally affect the street scene in their area.