Manchester City Council has marked a major milestone in its fight against the housing crisis, with its dedicated Empty Homes Team successfully returning 500 long‑term empty properties to active use in under two years.
The specialist team was established in 2024 as part of the city’s wider effort to maximise the use of existing housing stock and ensure more homes are available for social rent and temporary accommodation. The achievement reflects a key strand of Manchester’s response to increasing national housing pressures.
Manchester’s 2022 Housing Strategy set out a bold commitment to deliver at least 10,000 social rent, council and genuinely affordable homes by 2032 – a target the Council says it is on track to meet and exceed. But leaders emphasise that tackling empty homes remains a vital priority:
- Every empty home represents a “wasted resource” that could house a family in need
- Returning properties to use directly reduces demand on homeless accommodation
- Re‑using existing stock is often faster and more sustainable than new‑build delivery
Although Manchester has made significant progress in reducing empty properties – down 53% since 2013, reaching a historic low – around 1,500 homes in the city remain classed as long‑term voids, meaning they have been empty for more than six months.
Most of the remaining empty homes are privately owned, often with complicated histories such as probate delays, absentee landlords, financial issues, or properties left derelict for long periods.
To address this challenge, the Council has recently completed a public consultation on its proposed new Empty Homes Strategy. The consultation gathered views from residents, landlords, community groups and stakeholders, ensuring the approach reflects the needs of the whole city.
The upcoming strategy, due to be reported to a future meeting of the Council’s Executive, will set out:
- How the Empty Homes Team will work directly with owners to bring homes back into use
- How properties can be retrofitted to make them warmer, more energy‑efficient and more sustainable
- How the Council will target problem properties that cause issues such as anti‑social behaviour, neighbourhood blight or safety concerns
By increasing available housing, reducing visual blight and supporting safer, more welcoming neighbourhoods, the Empty Homes Team is seen as a crucial part of Manchester’s broader ambition to ensure:
- higher‑quality homes
- greater housing choice
- better outcomes for vulnerable households
- more sustainable, community‑focused urban regeneration
Cllr Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development at Manchester City Council, said:
“Every empty home is a missed opportunity and a wasted resource. These are properties that could create safe and secure accommodation for Manchester residents. Our team is making brilliant progress and to bring 500 homes back into use in only two years is a major achievement – and a statement of intent that we are serious about tackling this issue, not only providing great homes for our families, but also improving streets by addressing problem properties to make sure our communities are places our residents can be proud of.”
Image credit: iStock
