There are over 1.5 million abandoned residential properties in England and Wales worth an estimated £530 billion. By any measure, this is a huge number, and it’s certain that solving this problem could provide the housing market with much needed capacity.

The properties themselves are usually old and dilapidated – pointing to one of the main underlying causes of derelict properties. When people inherit a home, usually from an elderly parent, they plan to renovate it and sell it on. However, life gets busy, and beneficiaries put those plans on the back burner, as other things get in the way and the homes remain empty.

Often, probate is never administered, as the elderly owners of a dilapidated property may die or go into a care home intestate (without a will). By this time, problems with the property have increased making the issue an even more difficult one. Add to that, legal delays due to Covid also delay getting probate done.

How can we tackle this issue?

Council tax bills on long-term empty homes have now doubled, which is a disincentive to leave them empty. Also, companies such as Grafton Empty Homes and Grafton Genealogy can advise solicitors or individuals how to deal with an empty home where there are no named beneficiaries or will. We can advise on what remedial works need done, to prepare the house for sale, and we can trace heirs both in the U.K. and abroad, providing advice on the laws of succession in England and Wales.

Where an empty home has been brought to the attention of a Local Authority, we can also provide genealogy research services to trace heirs, or property services to clear the house and carry out remedial work.

Even if only a small amount of empty homes are brought back into use, there are immediate benefits. The street looks smarter and more homely again, and each property would provide much-needed respite to the housing crisis.