The Empty Homes Network has now submitted its response to the government's consultation on the New Homes Bonus (downloadable from here).
We recognise that the inclusion of long-term empty homes in the calculation of housing supply will provide a very definite boost to empty homes work, whilst at the same time recognising that the proposal is far from perfect. For example, we identify that "data cleansing" may play a disproportionate role in the amount of bonus distributed. We continue to promote the idea of government adding value to local authority initiatives by direct and targeted funding as a better alternative.