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

The latest data comes in the midst of 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 empty properties across the country have risen to the highest level in a decade outside of the coronavirus pandemic.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) shows at least 658 homes liable for council tax in Lancaster had been unoccupied for at least six months at the most recent count in October.

Hundreds of homes in Lancaster have been sitting empty for more than six months. Photo credit: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

However, it meant the number of homes gathering dust for at least half a year has decreased by 27% from 905 in 2021, and 31% compared to 960 in 2012.

The properties deemed long-term empty were among a total of 1,955 vacant homes counted in Lancaster in October.

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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.

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: "After more than a decade of intense housing crisis it is shocking to see long-term empty homes in England rise to 250,000 – another 11,000 more wasted empties, while nearly 100,000 families are trapped in temporary accommodation, costing the nation over £1.5 billion pounds a year.

"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 28 in Lancaster.

And between April and June, 242 Lancaster households were entitled to support after becoming homeless or being put at risk of homelessness.

'Shocking' number of Lancaster homes have sat empty for months on end