1 Million Empty Homes... Why Britain's New Houses Are Sitting Empty (2026)

Every October, every council in England counts its houses. The 2025 count, published last November, found 542,276 empty homes — up almost 8% in a year, and rising for the fourth year running. Add second homes and unoccupied exemptions and the total number of homes in England not in permanent use passes one million. In a country that says, constantly and correctly, that it doesn't have enough houses. This video is about a specific part of that: homes finished recently, by developers, on planning permission granted because Britain needs housing — that nobody has ever lived in. Ten places where it's happening, each for a completely different reason. And at number one, a scheme where 344 flats were sold off-plan for more than £31 million in deposits, mostly to families in Hong Kong and China. The flats were never built. ⚠️ Some illustrative imagery in this video is AI-generated. All data is sourced — see the full list below.