Chris Bailey, national campaign manager at Action on Empty Homes, has pointed out that the 50,000 empty homes in the region represent thousands of lost opportunities to make lives better.
This comes after new data revealed hundreds of children are currently homeless in Darlington, County Durham and North Yorkshire.
The Northern Echo recently heard from an 18-year-old mother who has waited 10 months with her 18-month-old baby to get temporary accommodation – she is still waiting.
Mr Bailey said: “We are told our housing crisis is all about a shortage of homes but the hundred thousand plus families in temporary accommodation are right to ask how it can be possible that we have seen steadily rising numbers of empty homes in every region of the country as that crisis has intensified.
“A million empty homes in England is a million lost opportunities to make lives and neighbourhoods better.
“At present, we waste too much good public money on bad housing, benefits spent on private rents that are too high, for homes that are too poor quality and don’t offer families the security to plan for a decent future.
“We need to invest in bringing empty homes into use as decent genuinely affordable homes for those in need of them.
“It makes sense in terms of our housing crisis, it helps deliver our goals on climate change and it will save public money, instead of rewarding poor quality landlords.
“Councils need better powers and government needs to back them with investment that will actually save our country and our hard-pressed local councils money, as well as improving the lives and prospects of homeless families and their children.
“This is about investing in our future and righting the wrongs of a decade and a half of austerity Government under-investment that has destroyed lives and let down communities with false promises of levelling-up, when all most have seen is being stamped further down.”
Here is a breakdown of the number of empty homes currently in the North East:
- Darlington – 1,966
- Durham – 10,583
- Gateshead – 3,584
- Middlesbrough – 2,857
- Newcastle – 5,950
- Sunderland – 5,262
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Housing is our top priority, and councils have a range of tools at their disposal to bring empty homes back into use, including charging additional council tax on vacant properties.
“We are committed to building 1.5 million homes and delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. This will unlock thousands of homes to meet housing need and make the dream of homeownership a reality for more people across the country.”
Michael Kelleher, head of planning and housing at Durham County Council, previously said: “England is in the midst of a homelessness crisis, and this has led to an increased demand for temporary accommodation nationally.
“In County Durham, we are committed to working with our partners to address housing need and prevent homelessness and rough sleeping. This pledge is at the heart of our new five-year Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which sets out how we will tackle these issues and ensure people who are affected have the support they need.
“Our priorities for the next 12 months include increasing the number of council-owned and commissioned temporary accommodation units to reduce reliance on B&Bs and hotels. We are also embarking on a new house building programme to deliver 500 new affordable properties for local people in housing need.”
The Durham County Council empty homes team have won awards during the past four years for their efforts tackling the problem of empty homes in the county.
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A Darlington Borough Council spokesman previously said: “We currently have 85 households in temporary accommodation, 29 of those are in B&B/hotels. Any families with children would be moved into either self-contained or temporary housing as soon as possible, and would be in B&Bs/hotels no longer than six weeks.
“We work proactively to support households to find permanent accommodation and follow all guidance around the use of B&B/hotels and ensure we do not use this long term.
“We are also currently reviewing our Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.”