To meet housing demand the Government is commissioning more new-build developments. But as KERRY ANN EUSTICE finds out, we're not using what we've already got

Since the Government commissioned Bank of England economist Kate Barker to review the UK housing supply last year, there has been much reflection on the number of new homes which need to be built to meet future demand and to stabilise the property market.

The shortage of properties is often cited as a major reason housing has become almost unaffordable, especially for first-time buyers.

New housing developments are planned to meet this increased demand, yet new-builds are not the only answer to ensuring there are enough homes to go around.

Huge numbers of properties lie empty all over the UK and it is here that an untapped source could be found.

In fact, according to figures from a charitable organisation The Empty Homes Agency (EHA), there are 689,675 empty homes in England alone.

A home is classified as empty when it is between occupants, undergoing modernisation, in disrepair or awaiting demolition.

According to the EHA, there are still more empty homes than homeless families and therefore the housing shortage should not be so severe.

The EHA has been campaigning for owners who have neglected properties to face stricter penalties for doing so. Around 80 per cent of problem properties belong to the private sector and the remaining 20 per cent to the public sector.

At present the only penalty for seeing a home go empty is losing the property to the council, after a period of time, through a compulsory purchase order.

The EHA is hoping with stricter penalities people will be deterred from simply walking away from their responsibilites.

The charity is also campaigning for greater incentives to encourage redevelopment of these forgotten properties.

There are some incentives in place already inclucing grants, tax and stamp duty relief but these fall way behind the incentives awarded to developers taking on new-build projects.

For example, new builds are subject to zero rate VAT whereas renovation work attracts a 17.5 per cent rate.

There is often no good reason why a property is empty and and the EHA is calling for more transparency and accountability as to why they remain unused, especially if owned by the public sector.

Unlike brownfield developments where properties are demolished and new developments built on top the EHA wants to encourage redfield developments instead.

Redfield developments provide housing using existing buildings returning empty homes to use and converting redundant commercial properties into viable units.

The EHA is also asking local authorities to commit to the issue by designating an empty housing officer to locate unused properties and get them back into the market place.

Bromley is among one of the most vocal councils which has pledged its commitment.

The Government has acknowledged the findings of the EHA and has promised to tackle the issue of empty housing in a bid to reach supply targets.

Chief executive of the EHA, Jonathan Ellis, said: "Empty homes aren't the whole answer to the housing crisis but it's madness to ignore the potential of they have to meet housing need."

For more information, visit the website emptyhomes.com