Hundreds of homes in Malvern have been sitting empty for more than six months.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows at least 452 homes liable for council tax in Malvern Hills had been unoccupied for at least six months at the most recent count in October.

This comes amid a housing crisis which has left scores of people across England trapped in temporary accommodation.

Campaign group Action on Empty Homes called the latest figures “shocking” after they revealed long-term empties across the country have risen to the highest level in a decade outside of the coronavirus pandemic.

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In the Malvern Hills district, the number of homes gathering dust for at least half a year has increased by 12% from 405 in 2021, but the figure fell 10% compared to 504 in 2012.

The properties deemed long-term empty were among a total of 1,022 vacant homes counted in Malvern in October.

Owners of properties which have lain empty for two years or more can be charged an extra 100% council tax on top of their bill – rising to as much as 300% if the home has been empty for a decade or longer.

'The Government needs to step up to the plate'

Across England, there were 676,500 vacant properties at the latest count.

Some 248,600 (37%) of these had been lying empty for six months or more – the highest number since 2012, excluding 2020, when the pandemic caused a temporary shutdown in the housing market.

Chris Bailey, national campaign manager for Action on Empty Homes, said: “A new national empty homes programme is long overdue – the Government needs to step up to the plate and offer funding and incentives to get these homes back into use.”

Separate DLUHC figures show 94,870 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of June – including four in the Malvern Hills district.

And between April and June, 46 Malvern Hills households were entitled to support after becoming homeless or being put at risk of homelessness, putting them among 69,180 across England.

A DLUHC spokesperson said the Government is “taking action to get empty homes back into use” and added that the number of long-term empty homes is lower than when records began in 2004.