Homelessness crisis: number of empty homes in London now above 20,000 — these are the worst-offending boroughs

More than 20,000 homes in London — and 25,378 in the commuter belt — are empty long term despite the growing housing shortage.

Empty Homes, a charity which monitors vacant UK properties, found 20,237 London houses and flats are vacant for up to six months, up from 19,845 last year.

Latest government data shows the hotspots are Barnet, Camden, Croydon, Southwark and Kensington & Chelsea, which each have more than 1,000 homes that have been empty for six months or more.

Empty Homes says the true figures could be higher.

Its data is based on council tax information which does not include semi-derelict properties, while some owners may continue paying the tax on empty property, effectively hiding the fact it is vacant.

The news comes as the Annual Homelessness Monitor by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports that 40 per cent of London councils are dealing with increasing levels of homelessness year on year.

Empty Homes said Government should fund councils to buy and renovate such properties for people stuck in temporary housing and to take stronger action against wealthy investors who deliberately leave homes empty, known as “buy to leave”.

The charity added: “There is enough evidence to suggest government needs to explore additional measures to stop people buying and holding on to properties not to live in, but to store and grow their wealth.

Measures could include further reforms to the council tax system to enable councils to charge a lot more where properties are left empty.”