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There are now 700,000 more homes in England than in 2009, with the number of empty homes at a 10-year low.

New figures out yesterday (20 November 2014) show 700,000 more homes have been delivered in this Parliament with empty homes at a 10-year low, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has announced.

The figures show the government’s plan to increase house building to help hard-working families onto the property and boost jobs and growth in the British house building industry is working.

The figures show:

• in the 12 months to September, there were 138,640 housing starts – an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year, and 84% higher than at the bottom of the housing crash in June 2009
• a total of 700,000 new homes delivered in England since the end of 2009
• a fall in the numbers of empty homes by 160,000 since the end of 2009 – meaning the number of empty homes in England is now at a 10-year low

More affordable and Right to Buy homes

The Housing Minister also welcomed the latest figures showing more hard-working tenants taking up their Right to Buy, and an increase in the number of affordable homes built.

• between July and September this year, 2,845 council-owned properties were sold under the Right to Buy, with councils in London accounting for nearly a third of these – the second highest total for any quarter since 2006 to 2007
• between April and September this year building work started on 11,556 affordable homes – and means almost 217,000 new affordable homes have been delivered since 2010

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:

Whether it’s building new homes or bringing empty properties back into use, we have pulled out all the stops and are delivering the homes this country needs.

There are now 700,000 more homes in England than there were in 2009, house building is up 16% compared to last year, hard-working tenants are taking up their Right to Buy and the numbers of empty homes are now at a 10-year low.

This is all thanks to the efforts we’ve made since 2010, reforming the planning system, paving the way for developers to do their job and giving aspiring homeowners the help they deserve as part of our wider and long-term economic plan.

Further information

After Right to Buy discounts were increased in April 2012, annual sales by councils quadrupled from 2,638 to 11,261.

The maximum discounts available to social housing tenants through the Right to Buy now stand at £77,000 outside London and £102,700 in the capital. Discounts will increase annually according to the Consumer Price Index level of inflation.

Anyone looking to take up their Right to Buy can now be guided through the process by a team of experts.

The Right to Buy advisers are on hand to offer free advice, support and information, and tenants can ring a dedicated local rate helpline to speak to a member of the service.

Overall nearly 30,000 homes have been sold under the reinvigorated Right to Buy scheme (including from housing associations). Councils in London accounted for nearly a third of all sales in the last quarter – the second highest percentage recorded in a quarter since 2006 to 2007.

In the last quarter, councils received £210 million in receipts from these sales. Receipts from additional sales are now being recycled into building new affordable homes, and councils started work on 930 new homes, bringing the total number started to almost 4,800. This is highest quarterly figure since reinvigoration in 2012.

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