A VAT break for properties that have been empty for more than two years should be extended to all empty properties, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has told the Government. Cutting VAT on the renovation and repair of residential properties from 15 per cent to 5 per cent would encourage owners of empty homes to bring them back into use - and thereby clear council housing waiting lists.

If only a tenth of the country’s three quarters of a million empty homes could be brought back into use, there would be no need for any family to remain homeless and in temporary accommodation this Christmas, it said. But although help had been given to homeowners facing the possibility of repossessed, little had been done to help those who do not have a home to lose.

‘As people spend Christmas at home with their families they should spare a thought for the many people who are homeless and in temporary accommodation at this time of year’, said RICS policy officer James Rowlands.

‘Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless or suffering from poor living conditions. The Government must use all its powers to bring these homes back into use by reducing VAT on repair of buildings and reinforcing council powers. Rather than allowing homes to sit empty, everyone should be able to celebrate Christmas in a home of their own’.

In making the call RICS has added its voice to a growing chorus demanding a reduction of VAT from 15 per cent to 5 per cent on home maintenance and improvement. Such a move could help the Government achieve its target of cutting carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, according to the Empty Homes Agency.

The Halifax has also called for the change. ‘We would like the Government to extend the 5 per cent rate of VAT for renovating an empty home to all properties vacant for more than six months not just those properties that have been un-occupied for more than two years’, said Halifax economist Martin Ellis.

For the Federation of Master Builders, Director of External Affairs at the Federation of Master Builders Brian Berry said there are currently 850,000 empty homes in the UK which could be brought back into use. ‘Given that homes are responsible for 27 per cent of the country's carbon emissions and that roughly 75 per cent of our current housing will still be standing in 2050, urgent action is needed now to make our homes greener and more energy efficient.  In terms of making our homes greener, recent research from Oxford University, which was commissioned by the FMB, calculates that there is a new market worth between £3.5 and £6.5bn per annum to refurbish our existing homes.  What is needed is the push from the Government to kick start this market which would not only help the building industry but help meet the Government’s target to cut carbon emissions and reduce fuel poverty’.