ALMOST 30 homes in Waverley have been unoccupied for a decade or more amid spiralling demand for housing, the borough council has confirmed.

In December 2016 The Herald reported that as many as 1,330 homes in Waverley were registered as ‘purposefully unoccupied’. This number has since risen to 1,480 according to new figures released by Waverley Borough Council this week.

Of these, 677 homes have been empty for up to six months, 328 for between six and 24 months, 110 for over two years, and 29 for 10 years or more.

It comes after a Government inspector demanded Waverley raise its housing target last summer from 519 to 590 homes per year until 2032 to meet local demand, lifting the total from 9,861 to 11,210 over the borough’s new local plan period (2013 to 2032), increasing the pressure on Waverley to consent to greenfield development.

There are also around 1,700 applicants on Waverley’s social housing register but only around 300 council homes become available each year, meaning applicants face a long wait before being successful in receiving an offer of accommodation.

A council spokesman said: “Waverley has been working to bring these properties into use and is using council tax to deter owners from leaving properties empty.    

“If a property has been empty for over two years, the council will charge 50 per cent extra council tax. There are exemptions, as outlined on our website.

“In the Chancellor’s budget in November 2017 it was announced that councils will be allowed to increase the council tax premium from 50 per cent to 100 per cent.

“The council will be able to apply the increase as soon as the government has published the necessary regulations and given authority.”

The problem is not limited to Waverley, and nationally more than 11,000 homes have been empty for 10 years or more, research by the Liberal Democrats has found.

The figures, from 276 local councils, show there are more than 216,000 homes across the country which have been empty for six months or more.

Lib Dem leader Vince Cable called it a “national scandal”, at a time when “the homelessness crisis is worsening”.