What We Do
The Empty Homes Agency was set up as a housing association with charitable status, however we neither own or manage any empty property. The Empty Homes Agency is an independent campaigning charity, which exists to highlight the waste of empty property in England and works with others to devise and promote solutions to bring empty property back into use.
We were set up in 1992 in response to the high number of empty properties and the crisis with homelessness - something had to be done! In the early days we worked on bringing individual empty properties back into use and encouraged local authorities to implement empty property strategies.
Our Mission
The Empty Homes Agency is an independent charity. We help people create homes from empty property and campaign for more empty homes to be brought into use, for those in housing need.
We seek to achieve these goals by working at two levels:
Nationally - by campaigning, lobbying and communicating for policy change
Lobbying the Government and political parties, the Agency presses for changes in housing policy and the law to encourage owners to bring their homes back into use.
Working with the Government, the Agency provides information on the empty homes situation and develops measures to tackle the problem.
Keeping the scandal of empty homes in the public eye, by running campaigns, publishing research, organising seminars and conferences, and holding a 'National Week Of Action'.
Locally -
Aiding the regeneration of communities, by ensuring their economic stability, through our work with local authorities.
Persuading local authorities to adopt Empty Property Strategies and to appoint Empty Property Officers, which over 200 councils have done and they are bringing tens of thousands of empty properties back each year.
Supporting owners of empty homes, the Agency can advise owners of the available options for putting their homes to use.
