REVEALED: The extent of the ‘empty homes crisis’ in Lincolnshire

A staggering number of homes across the county have sat empty for longer than six months - with new figures showing which district has the highest proportion.
The UK's empty homes crisis. Photo for illustration only. Image: Derek Herper (Creative Commons).The UK's empty homes crisis. Photo for illustration only. Image: Derek Herper (Creative Commons).
The UK's empty homes crisis. Photo for illustration only. Image: Derek Herper (Creative Commons).

In Lincolnshire alone - there are said to be 3,351 currently sat empty - estimated to be worth a staggering £484 million.

According to Goverment figures, West Lindsey has the highest proportion of long-term vacant homes in Lincolnshire, with 14 in every 1,000 homes laying empty for a minimum of six months.

East Lindsey has the second highest proportion (12.4 in 1,000) - but the highest overall number of vacant homes (839).

Lincoln is third, with 437 empty homes (9.9 in 1,000); followed by North Kesteven with 441 (8.7 in 1,000); South Kesteven has 512 (8.1 in 1,000), Boston 234 (7.9 in 1,000); and South Holland 295 (7.3 in 1,000).

The number of empty homes across Britain has been described by some political commentators as a ‘scandal’ - due to the country’s ‘housing crisis’.

The following analysis comes from Admiral home insurance - which combined government statstics with figures obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to local councils. Any dwelling that comes under a council tax band was added in the figures - including holiday homes and mobile homes.

These empty homes across the Lincolnshire are worth a combined £484 million - according to Admiral, which used the median house price for each district to make the calculation.

They also reveal that some of these vacant homes have sat empty for 10 years or more.

East Lindsey has the highest number of these - with 71 homes being vacant across the district for more than 10 years.

North Kesteven has 67 left empty for over a decade, Lincoln has 60, Boston 24, and South Holland 17. South Kesteven has none left vacant for this long.

Collectively, homes in East Lindsey which have laid empty for 5-9 years are worth more than £13,000,000, according to Admiral.

For the same period of time, North Kesteven has the second highest valuation - with homes left empty for 5-9 years said to be worth £11,640,345.

South Kesteven is third with a combined value of £8,756,000, followed by Lincoln at £7,774,650, South Holland £3,850,000, and Boston £2,400,000.

Admiral said they did not receive the equivalent FOI data from West Lindsey District Council, so they have not been included in the lists detailing combined values of empty homes - or the number of years they have been vacant.

A Government bill, released in October 2018, saw that all local authorities in England have the power to charge dwellings that have been empty for at least two-years, an extra 50% on their council tax bill, and more recently (from April, 2019), an increase to 100%.

See Admiral’s study on the UK empty homes crisis here.