Vacant dwellings

Key points

In 2023 there were 18,216 vacant dwellings in the Lancashire-12 area, around 3.2% of total dwelling stock. In the wider Lancashire-14 area the figures were 23,966 and 3.4%.

Vacant dwelling numbers had been on the decline for some of the years since 2010 at the national and local levels, but parts of the Lancashire-14 area continue to record vacancy rates that are well above the England average.

Between 2010 and 2023, vacant dwelling numbers fell by -5.2% in England and -24.1% in the Lancashire-12 area. In 2023, vacant dwellings accounted for 2.8% of the total at the national level, but 3.2% for the Lancashire-12 area and 3.4% for the Lancashire-14 area. Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwen had high levels of vacant dwellings in 2023 at 4.0% or more. Wyre recorded a significant reduction of -988 (-52.6%) in vacant dwellings over the thirteen-year period. For Hyndburn the reduction was -1,210 (-49.5%) and in Burnley -1,495 (-46.3%).

Over the last year, from 2022 to 2023, the number of vacant dwellings in England rose by 22,822 (+3.4%) to the highest total since 2012. Within the Lancashire-14 area, nine authorities saw yearly increases, with most being in Lancaster (+278, +14.2%), South Ribble (+150, +11.5%) and Pendle (+157, +11.5%). Everywhere else there were falls, the largest being the -136 in Burnley (-7.3%)

See Appendix 1 and 2 for the latest data, time series and recent changes. 

Background information

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) collects data on the dwelling stock, and the numbers include details of vacant dwellings: a unit of residential accommodation that is empty at a particular point of time. Vacant dwellings include those that are empty between change of occupants or undergoing refurbishment, awaiting demolition, or newly completed but not occupied.

There will always be a proportion of the housing stock empty to enable the process of buying, selling and letting to work efficiently, whilst some will be empty to allow repairs and improvement. These are known as transactional vacancies and most are brought back into use quickly and without intervention. It is estimated that the effective minimum level of empty homes as a result of these processes is around 2% of the housing stock.

Not all properties are quickly brought back into use and Appendix 1, available as a download at the bottom of the page, details the number of vacant dwellings in the Lancashire-14 area by district from 2010 to 2022. Table 1 below has the stock counts and percentages of vacant dwellings for 2023. Appendix 2 also includes the small numbers of vacant dwellings known to be affecting the local authority and social housing tenure sectors.

Change over time

Between 2010 and 2023, there was a noticeable decline of -38,021 (-5.2%) in vacant dwelling numbers for England as a whole, with a significant decrease (74,299) occurring between 2012 and 2013. The lowest total in England was 589,766 in 2016 but has risen slowly since then until 2023. In the Lancashire-14 area between 2010 and 2023, the decline amounted to a reduction of -7,019 (-22.7%) to give a figure of 23,966 vacant dwellings in 2023.

Between 2010 and 2023, Wyre recorded a significant reduction of 988 (52.6%) in vacant dwellings over the thirteen-year period. Large reductions were also seen in Hyndburn, -1,210 (-49.5%) and in Burnley -1,495 (-46.3%).

With the exception of Ribble Valley, South Ribble and Preston, in all of the Lancashire 12 and 14 areas as well as the North West region and England vacant dwellings were fewer in 2023 than in 2010.

Over the last year, from 2022 to 2023, the number of vacant dwellings in England rose by 22,822 (+3.4%) to the highest total since 2012. Within the Lancashire-14 area, nine authorities saw yearly increases, with most being in Lancaster (+278, +14.2%), South Ribble (+150, +11.5%) and Pendle (+157, +11.5%). Everywhere else there were falls, the largest being the -136 in Burnley (-7.3%).

For the Lancashire-14 area as a whole the number of vacant dwellings rose by 817 over the last year. For the Lancashire-12 area, the number of vacant dwellings rose by 767. The percentage changes were 3.5% and 4.4% respectively.

Vacant dwellings as a proportion of all dwelling stock

At the national level, the 699,126 vacant dwellings represented 2.8% of total dwellings, whilst for Lancashire-14, the percentage was somewhat higher at 3.4%. The proportion of vacant dwellings is a significant issue in some Lancashire authorities. The highest proportions were found in Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwen with 4% or more of dwelling stock standing vacant in 2023. The 3,249 empty properties in Blackpool by far exceeded those in any other Lancashire authority with only Blackburn with Darwen, Preston and Lancaster also having more than 2,000. The Fylde and Preston proportions were also high at 3.9% followed by Rossendale at 3.8%.

The Lancashire authorities which recorded a percentage of vacant dwellings below the 2.8% England average were Wyre at 1.6%, Chorley at 2.5% and West Lancashire at 2.7%. The very low rate in Wyre is a testimony to the extent to which vacant stock has fallen since 2010, a decline of 52.6% over thirteen years.

Table 1: Vacant dwellings, 2023

	Vacant dwellings1	Total dwelling stock2	Percentage dwellings vacant
Burnley	1,731	42,720	4.1%
Chorley	1,338	52,680	2.5%
Fylde	1,589	41,030	3.9%
Hyndburn	1,236	37,710	3.3%
Lancaster	2,233	66,370	3.4%
Pendle	1,533	41,230	3.7%
Preston	2,609	67,550	3.9%
Ribble Valley	956	29,010	3.3%
Rossendale	1,225	32,540	3.8%
South Ribble	1,456	51,440	2.8%
West Lancashire	1,420	51,870	2.7%
Wyre	890	54,820	1.6%
Lancashire-12	18,216	568,970	3.2%
Blackburn with Darwen	2,501	63,050	4.0%
Blackpool	3,249	72,270	4.5%
Lancashire-14	23,966	704,290	3.4%
England	699,126	25,353,530	2.8%

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)

^[1] GOV.UK website, live tables on dwelling stock, Table 615. The figures constitute an exact count.
^[2] GOV.UK website, Council tax: stock of properties, 2023

Additional Information  

The Homes and Communities Agency's website has an empty homes web page.

The Action on empty homes website contains information on initiatives to help tackle the problem of unused dwellings.

The new homes bonus is a grant paid by central government to local councils for increasing the number of homes. The web link gives access to a spreadsheet that details the financial allocations for all authorities across the country, and the numbers of empty homes that have been brought back into use.   

The present rules on council tax levied on empty homes mean that it is up to the local council to decide on whether discounts are applicable.

Page updated April 2024.