HUNDREDS of homes in Worcester have been sitting empty for more than six months according to new data.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows at least 503 homes liable for council tax in Worcester had been unoccupied for at least six months at the most recent count in October.

It meant the number of homes gathering dust for at least half a year has increased by 28 per cent from 393 in 2021, and 6 per cent compared to 476 in 2012.

The figures come amid a housing crisis which has left scores of people across England trapped in temporary accommodation.

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The properties deemed long-term empty were among a total of 1,204 vacant homes counted in Worcester in October.

Owners of properties which have been empty for two years or more can be charged an extra 100 per cent of council tax on top of their bill – rising to as much as 300 per cent if the home has been empty for a decade or longer.

Campaign group Action on Empty Homes called the latest figures "shocking", after they revealed long-term empties across the country have risen to the highest level in a decade outside of the coronavirus pandemic.

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 49 in Worcester.

And between April and June, ​224 Worcester households were entitled to support after becoming homeless or being put at risk of homelessness, putting them among 69,180 across England.

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A DLUHC spokesperson said: "The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives councils power to apply the 100% council tax premium on properties left empty after a year, rather than the current two years.

"This will provide local leaders with additional flexibility to help address the impacts of empty homes."