Bringing empty homes back to life
Across the UK, over 260,000 homes have been left empty for more than six months¹. Meanwhile, families face housing shortages and owners experience growing financial pressure from council tax premiums and ongoing costs. Cornerstone Homes offers practical pathways to bring homes back into use.
Our Mission.
At Cornerstone Homes, we believe no home should remain empty amid the worst housing crisis in a generation. We’re building the UK’s largest national register of long-term empty homes, powered by community insight and local knowledge.
Every property reported helps us to:
Identify and map empty homes across the country.
Work with owners, councils and partners to bring them back into use.
Restore life to streets and neighbourhoods.
Not all houses can be fixed overnight. But every report brings owners closer to the support they need, deepens our understanding of the crisis and builds pressure on councils and policymakers to act.
Why empty homes matter.
1. Wasted housing.
Across the UK, over 261,000 homes have been left empty for more than six months¹, while thousands of families struggle for housing.
2. Declining streets.
Empty homes drag down communities, attracting crime, vandalism and neglect².
3. Rising costs for owners.
Owners can lose more than £12,000 a year in council tax premiums, lost rent and upkeep³.
4. Unlocking potential.
Restoring even a fraction of long-term empty homes could provide a home for thousands of families on social housing waiting lists and save taxpayers billions in housing costs⁴.
How It Works.
Reporting an empty home may take just a minute, but it can make a lasting difference. Every submission is logged in our secure register, checked for accuracy and used to offer owners the support they need. Some homes can be acted on quickly, others may take longer - but every report helps us to bring empty homes back to life.
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Tell us about the property, including what makes you think it’s empty.
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Our team checks the property against public records and other data sources to confirm whether it’s a long-term empty.
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Once verified, we look at what could happen next. This might include:
Contacting the owner to offer support, which may include advice and support during the refurbishment process, or exploring a sale if this is the owner’s preferred route.
Working with councils to support the owner in bringing the home back into liveable condition.
Adding it to our national register, building a bigger and more informed picture of the empty homes crisis.
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Your report can support in a number of different ways:
Providing a route to support for owners facing the financial pressure of council tax premiums and rising holding costs.
Connecting owners to practical delivery support and partners.
Even when no immediate action is possible, your report strengthens our evidence and adds pressure on authorities to make change.
We are committed to exploring every possible avenue to bring the property back into use. By reporting an empty home, you can contribute to real change and breathe life back into our communities.
Seen an empty home? Tell us about it.
If you know of a property that has been empty for a long time, please let us know. Your report will be added to our national register. Together, we can tackle the empty homes crisis.
We take your reports very seriously. Every submission is checked and stored securely. We never publish reports without verification and we never share your details without your consent.
We operate under UK GDPR.
Built on trust.
We’re celebrating World Vacant Homes Day
Cornerstone Homes is proud to support the launch of World Vacant Homes Day on 8th October 2025, alongside councils, networks and forums across the world.
Sources
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Live tables on dwelling stock (including vacants), 2025. Live tables on dwelling stock (including vacants) - GOV.UK
National Library of Medicine (PMC). The social and economic costs of long-term empty homes, 2024. The Impact of Vacant and Abandoned Property on Health and Well-Being: A Qualitative Inquiry - PMC
Cheshire West and Chester Council. The cost of owning an empty property, 2025. Cost of owning an empty property | Cheshire West and Chester Council
National Housing Federation. Capital grant required to meet social housing need in England 2021 – 2031, 2019. Grant Modelling Report June 2019