The borough has seen a drastic increase in the number of empty homes, with almost 2000 vacant properties
Action on Empty Homes figures showed there was a 152% increase in the number of empty homes this year.
Rebecca Moore, the Director of Action on Empty Homes, said: “Every year we see more homeless families and more homes standing empty. This is why a new government needs to make a change.”
Moore added: “Long-term empties are a missed opportunity to invest in and learn from retrofitting. Retrofitting empties is cheaper, faster and greener than building new homes.”
Retrofitting is the process of making improvements to a long term empty house to make it liveable.
The rise began after the Empty Homes programme ended in 2016.
The coalition government’s Empty Homes programme invested almost £100 million to refurbish 6,000 empty homes and bring them back into use as affordable homes.
According to Action on Empty Homes, empty homes are also increasing due to estate redevelopment schemes and individuals’ own investments into second homes.
Redevelopment projects in Kingston such as the Cambridge Road Estate, which involves a plan to renovate 2,170 homes, have been underway since 2021.
The Kingston Council has no power to take over empty homes or second homes that are not used by the owner.
However, the council introduced the premium council tax on long term empty homes in April 2024 and the initiative will also apply to second homes from April 2025.
For any properties left vacant for one to five years, the owner will have to pay double the amount of council tax for the band the property falls under.
But according to Action on Empty Homes, the premium tax has not reduced the numbers in empty homes and properties are still left vacant.
The Kingston and Surbiton Labour Party said: “Kingston Council should take lessons from Labour-controlled Hammersmith & Fulham, which has reduced its empty homes by over 60% in less than two years.”
The Hammersmith and Fulham Council adopted an internal action plan in September 2023 to assess all empty homes and the refurbishments that need to be completed.
The number of privately owned second homes in Kingston increased by 34% in the last year by comparison.
Action on Empty Homes is calling on the government to use empty properties currently left vacant and renovate them instead of building new homes.
A Kingston Council spokesperson said: “We are working closely with other local authorities across London and national lobby groups to highlight the pressures being felt across the sector.”
The council is calling for a fairer funding settlement for local governments after soaring costs surrounding temporary accommodation.
This year, Kingston Council spent £9.3 million on temporary accommodation with numbers expected to rise in 2025.
The Labour’s 2024 budget included plans to invest £500 million to build new affordable homes.
Donations to Action on Empty Homes are used to address the UK wide housing crisis.
