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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2026
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Because that isn't the source. There are 700k+ empty homes in the UK. Sure build more homes, also fill the ones we have.
Meanwhile here's you:
Don't believe the rich. They're lying to you to maintain their privilege. How many millions donated to Reform to convince you that it's immigrants, and not the rich, that's the problem? Immigration is down, and still these problems persist, it's isn't the immigrants. Wealth inequality is up, it is the wealthy.
Agree with you that extreme wealth inequality is our problem and that immigrants are scapegoated to distract us. Would also like to add, I think saying immigration is down is not a solid argument. If someone's starting position is the country is already full, pointing out the rate of immigration is slower but still ongoing would be interpreted as a negative rather than a positive.
True, but if they're dead set on blaming immigration then they're dead set on blaming immigration. I cannot reason them out of a position they haven't reasoned themselves in to.
I say immigration is down to highlight immigration is being scapegoated, while also providing where the blame should lie (wealth inequality).
Honestly, this is an absolutely stupid use of statistics.
That's 3% of homes vacant. Have you literally never moved houses before? Homes sitting vacant for a few months is pretty normal. That's homes on average being unoccupied 3-4 months out of every ten years. It would be strange if 3% of homes weren't vacant at any given point,
You haven't said anything different than dehaga, and well, look where that got them. Poor thing couldn't even tell me whether they thought abandoned houses counted as unoccupied.
Further down someone provided a more detailed source, with data of long term unocupancy, which is still staggering. Add that to Airbnbs, which aren't entirely included, as they're taxed differently, and the outlook is pretty bleak.
If you're interested they break it down by long-term, excepted empty homes, not yet long-term, second homes and holiday lets.
Perhaps we're at an impasse. I see a staggering number of unoccupied homes, a staggering number of people I would like housed, and an obvious start to a solution.
Would you like to try again, perhaps without accusations of stupidity? When we poors fight only the wealthy win, and the wealthy are winning, look at wealth inequality over time.
I make a perfectly reasonable claim (3% vacancy rate is perfectly explainable through ordinary real estate churn.)
You reply pretending you can dismiss a perfectly reasonable explanation with no justification, simply by blustering and pretending something reasonable isn't.
Seriously, really. Why in God's name wouldn't a 3% vacancy rate be perfectly reasonable? Do you have no idea how homes work? Do you think that every time a home is sold or re-rented, that the new occupants can just move in the day the old occupants leave? It's very normal for homes to sit vacant for months while they sell.
You're completely detached from reality here buddy. If you think the 3% vacancy rate isn't reasonable in an ordinary market.
I think you've just never rented or sold any kind of home or real estate before. Your attitudes make more sense for someone who still lives with their parents and who has never done anything with real estate of any kind.
Yeah, I removed that for civility. You haven't said anything that dehaga, hasn't said, and look where that got them, poor thing. Honestly, go check, they tried the exact same line of argument.
Now for your acusation of bluster:
You're wrong on all counts, that's what is called bluster. Be better.
I think we're at an impasse, I see a staggering number of unoccupied homes, even just included long-term unoccupied. Then add holiday lets, then add holiday homes. I also see a staggering number of people I would like housed. I then see a start of a solution.
Go away until you can be the slightest bit more respectful. You complaining that anyone who disagrees with you, because of the data mind, lives at home with their parents (like that would make them wrong, that's called an Ad Hominem), is embarrassing.
You've written a lot of words without making any points.
What exactly do you think a reasonable vacancy rate is, if not 3%? You're not even trying to justify your answer.
You mean you ignored everything I have said then? Ok we'll go point by point.
Point 1: you are disrespectful to others, and use bad faith arguments such as ad hominems. Makes sense to start here, ignoring everything someone says is fairly disrespectful.
Adjacent point: when we poors fight, only the wealthy win. The wealthy are winning, look at wealth inequality. This is mostly for anyone reading after, the point dear reader is to make the conversation toxic, and WoodScientist absolutely has. While them and I are bickering, we're not taking about wealthy... The people with all the cookies. Their first sentence to me in this conversation: "Honestly, this is an absolutely stupid use of statistics." Screams 'I'm going to have a productive conversation with you.' Look out for these people, any time anyone says anything about the wealthy there will be one.
Why do I believe you are disrespectful of others:
You have suggested, because I disagree with you, based on the evidence, I must not know anything about housing. I cannot possibly be speaking as an equal right? Here's an example of you:
Do I have no idea how homes work? You see how that isn't attacking an argument, it's attacking a person?
Now for ad hominems.
You see how this is an ad hominem? A person living with their parents could absolutely know how housing works, nothing about living with parents excludes them from that knowledge.
So, your attitude needs some work, agreed? This isn't even an exhaustive list. But, given that, can you see why I might not be inclined to have any conversation with you, I just don't see how it can be productive.
Can you see it, within yourself, to treat me as an equal deserving of respect? You came to me, you could have read all the conversations in this thread, you could have seen I wasn't taking about houses recently bought and not yet moved in to.
So that's point 1, if we can work through that, and I'm not hopeful, we can get to point 2.
so why didn’t he put a tax or penalty on empty homes?
putting a freeze on rent prices aka market intervention usually results in the market self correcting, so if the market is overwhelmed enough eventually the market will work around this by asking for bigger upfront payments, hidden extra payments, payments that don’t involve cash etc
I'm not against wealth taxes in general. No argument from me. According to the article, rent increases has far surpassed wage increases.
There's a few ways of addressing that, I don't think Greens are ONLY arguing for a rent freeze, i
Those 700k aren't just sat there empty.
No partial quotes please:
Why did you chose to leave part of the sentence off. Also what's you're point? Some are under renovation, sure. Some are asking too high a price for sale or rent. Or, they're second homes. Or, they're holiday homes Or, they're airbnbs. Or, investments. Or abandoned.
I don't consider a home that is used Mon to Fri to be unoccupied.
We need to build houses. It's the best way to get broad based growth. Lots of trades.
That's nice. I asked you why you chose to cherry pick the article and take partial quotes. Could you answer that please? Do you consider a house that's abandoned as unoccupied? Stop cherry picking please.
Here's what you're doing, knowingly or not: Reverse Gish gallop
Are you under the impression that I'm against building houses?
Here's me:
We agree: build more homes. Do we agree to fill the ones we have?
Had you read the article though:
You're just being silly now. Are abandoned houses unoccupied? If they are, then they're relevant. What's the real reason you're cherry picking.
To you maybe, it links to a report explaining why. But, given you haven't figured out whether abandoned houses are unoccupied...
How many are abandoned?
I don't really trust OBR projections, they're rarely correct.
https://feddit.uk/comment/27885522
Thank you, that was a whole song and dance that was entirely unnecessary.
Let's just say that some are habitable. Therefore they're relevant. Therefore you cherry picked correct?
You don't know how many abandoned houses there are (see thread), you don't know how many are of any of the houses are habitable (see comment)
You cannot use partial quotes to cherry pick arguments. So back to my next question you ignored, why are you cherry picking?
You, of course don't know how many any of the examples are, so your ignorance as to how many there are, or if they're habitable is no excuse for why you chose some examples and omitted others.
Answer this one and we'll zip up to the first time I asked again.
According to your source 97% of house are occupied. Your whole argument that empty houses are a massive problem is false.
The answer to housing shortage isn't going going to be found in current housing stock.
Build more.
Ah, you're back to deflecting again. How boring.
This is the comment thread we are currently in:
That is the argument we're currently unpicking. You can deflect all you want.
People die, houses go through probate, it can take years.
Perhaps learn something about the subject you refuse to engage in.
More deflection.
Here's the subject you're refusing to engage in:
Is this going to be like the abandoned house thing again? Where it takes you 20hrs to answer whether they're occupied? That was such a dull thread.
It is deflection, and I've demonstrated to you why.
Now once again: why did you cherry pick the original article?
You know you came to me right? You can stop at any time.
Ok, my argument was that when we poors fight only the wealthy win. I understand it fine, do you? You don't seem to.
But anyways here was your comment which cherry picked the article:
That isn't the full sentence is it? You left off some relevant information didn't you? That's called cherry picking isn't it?
Oh look, I told you what I wanted you to do:
I'll ask you again: why are you resorting to cherry picking? I thought you wanted to jog on?
This was OPs point. You had to ram a load of boring leftist wank about billionaires without answering his fucking point
You are the one deflecting.
Fewer people, more houses. It's not that deep
We'll get there. But, to get to the op we have to go through my reply, and to get to my reply we have to go through your reply.
The reply that was pure cherry picking. So I'll ask again, why did you cherry pick the article?
You see, what you did was cherry pick a very small, and incidental part, of a much bigger argument... Which I called out as a Reverse Gish Gallop. Until you see that we're not going to have a particularly productive conversation, are we?
It is going to be like when you couldn't answer whether an abandoned house was unoccupied. How dull, I really hoped you wanted to jog on.
Oh gosh, it's you again. I had hoped you jogged on.
You see, what you did was cherry pick a very small, and incidental part, of a much bigger argument... Which I called out as a Reverse Gish Gallop. Until you see how ridiculous that was, we're not going to have a particularly productive conversation, are we?
Once again: Why did you decide to cherry pick?
What a silly deflection, be better. Are they unoccupied?
It's not a deflection, they've listed all the types of unoccupied, how many are in each category?
Are abandoned houses unoccupied?
It is a deflection.
To be clear now, they're now relevant enough to know how many in each category?
Let's just give this the sniff test:
Ok, you dismissed abandoned houses as irrelevant because you didn't know how many there are
You think these ones are relevant because you did know how many there were?
Can you see why it's a deflection? It doesn't matter to your position how many there are. You, at the time, didn't know how many there were of any of them, but you made a distinction anyway.
700k houses isn't a large % of UK housing stock.
Oh gosh, you're back. More deflection from you I'm afraid.
Once again, how many times now?
Are abandoned houses unoccupied?
Answer that and we'll zip back up to where I originally asked the question, and we can put your whole song and dance behind us.
What? You've never asked that question. I asked you how many there were. You've got a big list and no numbers. Do better.
https://vger.to/fedinsfw.app/comment/2595705
Incorrect. I asked you that question from the link comment onwards.
Obviously an abandoned house is empty. Is it habitable though?
Action on empty homes has breakdowns:
Long-term empty homes
To be classed as ‘long-term empty’ a home has to be liable for council tax and to have been unfurnished and not lived in for over 6 months. This figure is increasing all the time, but as at October 2025, it was 303,143 - a rise of 14% on 2024 and over 50% up on 2016 - the year after the last national Empty Homes Programme ended.
More here: https://www.actiononemptyhomes.org/facts-and-figures
Under second homes:
Am I understanding that right as a minimum of 268k in this category? As ther rest are in Holiday Let's and
That's a good source, thank you for that. I just used the top one of my search.