# England has more than 200,000 empty homes. How to revive them? (The Guardian, 25 Sept 2018) * **England has more than 200,000 empty homes. How to revive them?** * By Mattha Busby. Published in the Guardian on 25 September 2018 * * **Summary**: * "Ask most people about England’s epidemic of empty homes and they are likely to think of lavish vacant mansions in London owned by absent foreign billionaires. * In fact, [the majority of empty properties are in post-industrial](https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2018/feb/14/empty-homes-north-london-luxury-investment) areas, where poverty rates are high and house prices languish well below their pre-crash levels. Such a place is Stockton-on-Tees, near Middlesbrough, where Martyn Jones lives. * Two years ago Jones, 23, was homeless and relying on friends to let him sleep on their couches while he struggled to find work. Today, he is painting a wall in a gutted home on a quiet street, part of a group tasked with refurbishing some of the area’s many vacant, derelict homes. * Last week, [Theresa May pledged an extra £2bn for housing associations](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/18/housing-associations-to-get-2bn-investment-over-next-ten-years) to fund large-scale developments. **But with new house building not providing enough affordable homes for more than 1 million people on waiting lists in England, social enterprises and councils are trying to bring empty homes, which number well over** [**200,000 and are worth almost £50bn**](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/01/over-11000-homes-have-stood-empty-for-at-least-10-years-data-shows)**, back into occupancy."** * **Keywords**: UK, taxes, vacant property, empty dwelling, local councils, big landlords