There is currently more than £650,000,000 worth of property sat vacant in Hounslow, as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan looks for more powers to tackle this. 

A new study from City Hall has found that there are 30,000 long-term empty homes across London with a collective value of over £20 billion, in Hounslow there are 1,384 according to this study worth a total of £650,480,000. 

Khan is calling on the Government to devolve the power to set higher rates of council tax on empty homes, including for mega-mansions, as a deterrent against people leaving their homes empty. 

Khan said: "It's a scandal that so many much-needed homes across London lie vacant in the midst of a housing crisis. 

"That's why I'm working with Westminster City Council to call on the Government to implement a range of measures to crack down on long-term empty homes, including the devolution of powers so that local councils can set higher rates of council tax on vacant properties. 

"This would not only deter absentee international investment, but would free up housing stock across the capital for Londoners.   

"We are also urging Ministers to make it easier to allow the temporary take-over of empty homes using Empty Dwelling Management Orders, which have been restricted in recent years.  

"Ministers should start by making it easier for councils to bring long-term empty homes back into use so we can continue building a fairer and more prosperous London for everyone." 

The highest concentration of empty homes in London is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where there are 1,600 of these properties collectively worth over £2.2 billion. 

Conor O'Shea, Policy & Public Affairs Manager at Generation Rent, said: "As long as people are moving house or refurbishing properties we'll always have some empty homes, but it's particularly concerning that the number of long term empty homes in London has increased by 10,000 since 2019, at a time when rents have been surging to historic highs. 

"We need to make it more difficult for owners to leave properties empty and deprive locals of much needed homes. 

"A healthier supply of homes will dampen rents which are forcing people on ordinary incomes further out of London."