Rishi Sunak – 2018 Comments on Long-Term Empty Properties

The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the then Communities Minister, on 28 March 2018.

It is simply wrong that, while there are 200,000 long-term empty properties across the country, thousands of families are desperate for a secure place to call home.

This new power will equip councils with the tools they need to encourage owners of long-term empty properties to bring them back into use – and at the same time tackle the harmful effect they have on communities through squatting, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.