It was recently reported that there are hundreds of thousands of homes in the UK that remains unoccupied even with the ongoing concern about housing shortage.
BBC reported that one of those vacated buildings is the Bezier building which stands right in the middle of London's Old Street area. This same area is one of the most expensive and fashionable parts in the country. Each of the flat can cost more than £1 million with a monthly rent for £2,000.
However, though the monthly rentals of the units in Bezier are already good enough for a stay, surprisingly half of the units in the building are empty. The authority blames this to the phenomenon where the rich investors buy units and then leave without really caring about collecting rent money. This added to the house shortage as well.
According to BBC reports, there are 610,123 empty homes in England and 205,821 of these have been unoccupied for the past six months and even more. In Scotland, there are 34,884 long-term empty properties; in Wales, there are 23, 171 for six months. These are based from the records of the Welsh Government in 2014 to 2015.
Another reason pointed out to these increasing long-term empty houses is the lifestyle madness among the buyers. Property expert Henry Pryor said that there are some buyers who don't want a second-hand unit. For them they're like "buying a Rolls-Royce or an Aston Martin" which is applicable to their definition in buying a place.
Helen Williams, chief executive of Empty Homes, said "One of the most common reasons that properties are empty is because the owner cannot raise the money to do the property up to let it out, or sell," she added, "Perhaps they previously rented it out and now it needs more works done to it, or maybe they inherited it."
If these long-term units remain unoccupied this coming holiday season, perhaps, the rats, mice, and even squirrels will have their most satisfying Yuletide.
The Daily Mail UK mentioned that this coming winter millions of rats will invade homes and will cost a lot of damage to these properties. This event is due to the rats' escape from the freezing condition as this year's winter season is the coldest in the century.
These unoccupied units may soon be considered as the rodent's sanctuary and paradise.
Cleankill Environmental Services spokesperson said, "With forecasters predicting the harshest winter the UK has seen in half a century, pest controllers are now advising people to make sure their homes are fully protected against invading rodents."
The spokesperson added, "At a time when we feel like bolting our doors and keeping winter cold outside, it is hardly surprising that mice, rats and squirrels are trying to join us in our sanctuaries of warmth."
