Councils in London own 22,000 empty garages that could be freed up to deliver at least 16,000 homes, according to new research.
A freedom of information request by Property Partner found 41% of the 53,640 lock-up garages owned by 24 of London councils are empty or in disrepair.
Property Partner calculated that the total footage council-owned garages in London was more than eight million, which could be converted into 16,111 new one-bed apartments.
The research also found that only 45% of the garages that are rented out are done so to council tenants, with the London Borough of Bromley renting out just one in ten of its lock-ups to its own tenants.
Dan Gandesha, CEO of Property Partner, said: ‘When we have a crisis in affordable housing not just in the capital but in the UK, it begs the question whether councils in Britain should either sell off the land for development or build new homes themselves.
‘If a significant number of council garages, which are part of housing estates, are not even rented to those who should have a right to them – local authority tenants – then it could be argued that this is a wasted opportunity.’
