Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP, has uncovered the latest Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) figures for 2014 as part of a report he is currently writing, due to come out on 19th March called: ‘Everyone knows we have a housing crisis: let's do something about it’.
The figures show that in 2014 only 17 properties were brought back into use by the EDMO procedure. This was 1 less than a total of 18 in 2013 with an overall total of only 108 since 2007 which raises major concerns about the effectiveness of the measure to bring empty properties back into use.
Keith Taylor Green MEP for South East England said:
“It’s scandalous to have thousands of homeless people sleeping rough when there are nearly a million empty houses at the same time. Bringing empty properties back into use is a quick win. Today´s shocking figures highlight Government failures to get to grips with the issue of empty homes, and clearly illustrates that the EDMOs system is failing."
ENDS
Notes to Editors