The Problem
The crisis is utilisation, not supply alone.
The housing debate fixates on new build. What nobody is solving systematically is the gap between the homes that already exist and the homes that are actually occupied.
127,890
Households in TA
England, Q1 2025
Source: MHCLG statutory homelessness statistics
164,040
Children in TA
England, Q1 2025
Source: MHCLG statutory homelessness statistics
£2.29bn
Annual TA spend
English councils, 2023/24
Source: LGA analysis of council revenue outturn
1.33m
On waiting lists
England, 2023/24
Source: MHCLG local authority housing statistics
All figures cited from the most recently published UK government (MHCLG) and Local Government Association datasets. Rounded for display.
Why the problem persists
Voids are everyone's problem and no-one's outcome. Fragmented supply chains, lag between survey and instruction, sign-off bureaucracy, and a lack of real-time performance data combine to create avoidable empty homes.
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Fragmented supply chains
Multiple contractors, no single accountability.
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Survey-to-instruction lag
Weeks between inspection and works commencement.
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Approval bureaucracy
Internal sign-offs slow mobilisation by days.
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No performance data
Providers cannot see void days lost in real time.
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Cost-centre mentality
Voids treated as maintenance, not recovery.
The market
~80,000 homes empty. An estimated £1bn in rent lost every year.
England has roughly 4 million social homes, with around 2% void at any moment (Regulator of Social Housing). At an average social rent near £90/week and a sector-typical 35-day void, lost rental income alone runs into the hundreds of millions each year. Every day of void reduction is pure recovered value.
Sources: Regulator of Social Housing · Action on Empty Homes · MHCLG