43,000 empty homes

London may be in the throes of a housing crisis, but there are more than 43,000 empty homes in the capital it emerged today.

New figures show significant numbers of properties lying empty in almost every borough. In Brent alone there are more than 3,000 private homes which have not been lived in for at least six months.

The news comes at a time when tens of thousands of first time buyers are giving up trying to get on the property ladder because of spiralling house prices. And Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott estimates that 120,000 new homes are needed to cater for London's growing population.

Today's figures also show that the number of empty properties in the capital has increased in the last two years. The figure in 2001 was 42,090. That fell by more than 1,000 in 2002 as part of a push to reclaim empty properties. But last year the number was 43,446. When he was running for office in 2000, Ken Livingstone promised to reclaim empty homes at the rate of 3,500 per year.

The GLA says that in the year to April last year, 3,395 empty homes were returned to use by local councils and housing associations. It also claims that in the year to April this year, a further 3,585 empty homes have been reclaimed. But the growth in the figures shows just how big the challenge is. Darren Johnson, the Green Party spokesman on the London Assembly, said: "It is utterly outrageous when key workers are being priced out of the city and green space is being lost to new housebuilding."

A spokesman for housing charity Shelter said: "Lives are being destroyed while these homes lie empty."

The borough with the worst problem is Brent with 3,304 long-term empty homes. Croydon and Barnet also have more than 3,000 private homes which have been empty for half a year or more.

The least number of long-term empty homes was reported from Barking & Dagenham, Lambeth and Sutton, who had fewer than 200 empty homes each. Kensington & Chelsea reported only 206.

The Empty Homes Agency, a government-funded charity, will this week seek to raise awareness of the problem. Chief Executive Jonathan Ellis said: "We will be encouraging [people] to call the London Empty Property Hotline. "Such calls to the Hotline, 0870 901 6303, have helped bring 4,500 homes back into use."

The Agency will also be launching an empty homes " charter", a checklist to help councils deal with the problem.