The empty home epidemic: Regions with the most vacant council houses

Approximately 1.3 million households in England were on social housing waiting lists as of March 2023. Yet only 252,000 households received a new social letting in 2022/23, and wait times exceed five years for almost one in ten (9%) of new households.

Now, new data from the unoccupied house insurance experts Alan Boswell Group has revealed that the current average waiting times for UK households seeking social housing is 2.9 years, with more than 1,208,120 people on waitlists. In one region, the average waiting time to be housed is as high as 25.75 years.

The experts sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 387 councils in the UK to reveal the areas with the largest waitlists for social housing, and the highest number of vacant council properties.

The unoccupied house insurance experts Alan Boswell Group’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that Greater London is the UK region with the most vacant council homes, with 8,878 vacant properties equaling 10.4 empty homes per 10k people. London’s social housing waitlist (335,035) is 37.7 times higher than their current available housing stock.

Bury ranks second for the most vacant council homes with 7,841 empty properties, equivalent to 402.9 per 10k people – the highest per capita in the UK. The town’s social housing waitlist is 2,756, with the average waiting time to be housed standing at 1.73 years.

Aberdeen places third for the most vacant council homes with 2,272 or 101.3 per 10k people—the second highest figure per capita in the UK. 6,694 applications are active currently, with the city reporting that the longest application has been active for 17 years but the applicant has refused 13 offers of accommodation.

Following on from Aberdeen, the locations with the most vacant homes are Edinburgh (1,072), Renfrewshire (1,062), and Birmingham (1,011).

The unoccupied house insurance experts, Alan Boswell Group can reveal that Greater London has the longest waiting times for social housing in the UK, with an astonishingly high average of 6.6 years to be housed within the capital.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, the number of new affordable home builds started in London (3,156) fell 88% compared to the previous 12 months (26,386).

This lack of new properties combined with London’s rent burden has left many struggling to wait years before being granted an affordable home.

The study reveals that the borough of Barking and Dagenham (included within the ‘Greater London’ figure in the table above) has the longest average wait in the UK at 25.75 years, which includes a staggering 67 year wait on average for a four bedroom property.

Slough Borough Council reported the second highest waiting times in the UK with an average of 6.25 years. Slough, alongside approximately 30% of Berkshire, will soon form part of Greater London, which is likely to lead to an increase in the already unsustainable waitlist to be housed.

Aberdeen has the third-longest wait for social housing at 6 years. The Scottish city has 6,694 active housing applications with 2,272 vacant properties making the housing competition fierce. Brighton & Hove lands in fourth place with a 5.25-year wait to secure social housing.

The area with the lowest waiting times is South Derbyshire, with the average wait time for a social housing property being 94 days. Following on with the lowest wait times are Stafford (4.2 months), South Tyneside (4.5 months) and North West Leicestershire (5.1 months).

Heath Alexander-Bew, Director at Alan Boswell Group has highlight the urgent need for action to address the UK’s housing crisis, “While unoccupied properties in the UK have fallen, we still have over 46,000 empty council homes and more than 1.2 million people on waiting lists. Vacant council homes pose risks such as property deterioration and security threats, which impact local governments’ resources and finances. These challenges require urgent attention but once addressed, can turn empty council properties into immediate homes for people on long waiting lists.”

Christoph C Cemper, founder at AIPRM, has shared with Alan Boswell Group how AI and technology improvements could streamline the housing allocation process, “Artificial intelligence and data-driven systems have the potential to transform social housing allocations, ensuring that homes are matched to applicants more efficiently and fairly. By leveraging AI, councils can analyse applicants’ preferences, past refusals, and housing availability to make smarter, real-time allocation decisions. AI can also help identify patterns in refusals, enabling councils to set reasonable limits on the number of offers an applicant can turn down before reassessing their housing needs.”

For instance, Southampton City Council has implemented policies to cap the number of refusals, ensuring that homes do not sit empty due to repeated rejections. This approach addresses cases such as Aberdeen’s longest-standing housing application, which has remained active for 17 years despite the applicant refusing 13 offers of accommodation. By integrating technology-driven allocation systems with clear and fair refusal limits, councils can significantly reduce waiting times and ensure that available homes are occupied faster, benefiting both applicants and local authorities.”

For the complete Freedom of Information (FOI) findings, please view here.