683 Council Homes Sit Empty While 33,000 Languish on Birmingham's Waiting List

What's happened

New figures obtained by Reform UK have exposed a severe bottleneck in Birmingham City Council's housing management. Data uncovered by my colleague, Reform UK councillor Cherie Waddingham, reveals that 683 council homes are currently sitting vacant awaiting re-letting. This comes at a time when the city's housing waiting list has swelled to a staggering 33,751 households. The responsibility for addressing this crisis falls squarely on the new administration and Cllr Baber Baz, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness.

What it means for Erdington and Pype Hayes

For residents in Erdington and Pype Hayes, these numbers represent real families stuck in unsuitable, overcrowded conditions or expensive temporary accommodation. Every empty council house is a missed opportunity to provide a stable home for a local family in need. Furthermore, vacant properties often become magnets for anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, and vandalism, dragging down the quality of life for entire streets in our ward. Financially, the council is losing out on vital rental income for every week these 683 properties sit empty—money that should be reinvested into local services and housing repairs.

Where I stand

As your Reform UK councillor, I believe this situation is a fundamental failure of basic council management. I understand the counter-argument often put forward by the administration: properties require safety checks and repairs before they can be re-let, and the council is dealing with a backlog inherited from previous years. I respect that these processes take time. However, having nearly 700 homes sitting empty while 33,000 families wait is simply unacceptable. We need a ruthless focus on turnaround times. The council must hold its repair contractors to strict deadlines and ensure that void properties are turned around in days, not months. We cannot claim to be tackling a housing crisis while leaving our own housing stock boarded up.

What happens next

My office is formally raising this issue at the next full council meeting. We will be pressing the housing department for a ward-by-ward breakdown of these 683 empty properties so we can identify exactly how many are located in Erdington and Pype Hayes. We are also calling for an urgent review of the council's void property turnaround strategy to ensure contractors are penalised for unnecessary delays.

Questions we're asking

As the Reform UK opposition, I am putting the following questions directly to the decision-maker on behalf of our residents:

• Cllr Baz, given there are 683 vacant council homes awaiting re-letting, what is the current average turnaround time from a property becoming void to a new tenant receiving the keys?
• With 33,751 households on the waiting list, what specific financial resources have been allocated in this year's Housing Revenue Account to clear the backlog of void property repairs?
• Can the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness confirm exactly how much rental income the council is losing each month due to these 683 properties sitting empty?
• What performance penalties are currently being applied to council contractors who fail to meet repair deadlines on void properties?
• If the backlog of 683 empty homes is not reduced by the end of the financial year, what contingency plans will be activated to house those currently in expensive temporary accommodation?

Have your say

Do you think the council is doing enough to manage its housing stock? Register on the site to leave a comment below, vote in our ward forum poll, and let me know your thoughts. If you are currently dealing with a delayed council house repair or waiting list issue, please get in touch with my office directly.

Source: Reform UK Birmingham