The number of long-term empty homes in Oldham has increased to nearly 1,200 in the last year, figures have shown.

According to figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), 1,193 homes in Oldham were long-term empty as of October this year.

This number was an increase of 58 from the previous year, when 1,135 homes were deemed as long-term empty during 2022.

A long-term empty home is defined as a dwelling that has been empty for more than six months, excluding those due to flooding or properties left by people in prison.

The number of long-term empty homes in Oldham rose by five per cent over the past year, which is in line with the national increase.

Cllr Elaine Taylor, Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “It’s appalling that in the middle of a housing crisis, we have so many homes sat empty.

“Many of these properties are privately owned and have not been lived in for years. Meanwhile, there are thousands of people on the housing register who could make great use of them."

Cllr Taylor said the council has increased council tax on empty homes to the maximum, so owners of vacant properties "pay double".

She added: “Despite this, one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is tracking down owners and getting to the end of the legal process to buy or lease an empty home.

“We’re committed to working with home-owners to bring empty homes back into use. However, we would be able to reduce the number of empty homes if the Government were to give us greater powers to take over or buy them.”

Other figures showed 130 homes owned by private registered providers in Oldham, which are self-contained social and affordable rent houses, were vacant in 2022, while 297 homes in the borough were registered as second homes.

In the North West, 42,454 homes were long-term vacant, which was 4.3 per cent more than last year.

Action on Empty Homes said the fact more than half a million properties are vacant or used as second homes, while more than 100,000 families across the country are in temporary accommodation, is a “national disgrace”.

It called on the Government to introduce a new national empty homes programme to create additional housing supply for those most in need.

A spokesperson for the DLUHC said: “We have reduced the number of long-term empty homes by more than 50,000 since 2010 by giving councils powers to bring empty properties back into use, delivering new homes for communities.

“Councils can increase council tax by up to 300 per cent on long-term empty properties, and take over empty homes by Compulsory Purchase Orders and Empty Dwelling Management Orders.

“We recently laid out an ambitious long-term plan for housing and are on track to deliver one million homes this Parliament.”