London Council calls for increased powers to deal with empty homes

Westminster Council has called on the government to do more to help local authorities bring empty properties back into use.

More than 34,000 homes in the borough are not currently occupied by full-time residents, the council said, with around 11,000 of these listed as long-term vacant (not lived in for at least six months).

Westminster Council leader Adam Hug added: “We would like the power to apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) after a property has been empty for more than six months and we would like legislation changed so the council has a primary charge on the property so we are ahead in the queue of the mortgage companies.”

Mr Hug said the housing situation in the borough was “past crisis point” at a time when the council was having to spend £140m on temporary accommodation for residents.

“Our officers discovered two properties with an owner in Qatar that had been empty for 20 years. It is difficult to justify that in a world where the taxpayer is funding people in expensive hotels because there is nowhere to live.”

Westminster also estimates there are around 13,000 short-term lets in the borough. It is currently investigating more than 2,600 of these for suspected breaches of the 90-night limit that restricts the amount of time landlords can offer properties to visitors.

Meanwhile Cities of London and Westminster MP Rachel Blake has highlighted the rapid decline in the population in the Soho area, where homes are being increasingly sub-let to tourists.

“For too long platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com have turned a blind eye to homes being sub-let without the owners’ consent,’ she said. “Residents have had to suffer as a result with disruption and nuisance from rowdy guests and unaccountable hosts alike.”

Fewer than 2,000 people are now believed to live in Soho, down from around 6,000 in 2000 and an estimated 30,000 in 1945.