In November 2017 the BBC Shared Data Unit reported London's commuter belt had seen a spike in the number of homes left long-term empty despite a downward trend across the UK since 2010.
The England figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government included those which had been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for over six months but excluded second homes.
The unit also sourced and analysed figures on vacant homes from the National Records of Scotland, Data Unit Wales and Northern Ireland’s Land & Property Services to produce UK-wide findings.
The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:
- North-West Evening Mail: Got an empty home on your street? Investigation reveals it could be among thousands across Cumbria
- Derby Telegraph: Staggering 1,000 homes standing empty in Derby
- Pirate FM: Over 1000 houses standing empty in Cornwall
- Cornwall Live: Cornwall to clamp down on 1,000 empty homes under new rules from Chancellor Phillip Hammond in Budget
- Cumbria: Times & Star: Got an empty home on your street? Investigation reveals it could be among thousands across Cumbria
- Bristol Post: This is how many empty homes are left in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
- Lancashire Telegraph: East Lancashire one of the worst in the country for long-term empty homes
- Bracknell News: The number of empty homes in Bracknell and Wokingham has dropped since 2010
- Coventry Telegraph: This is how many homes are standing empty in Coventry and Warwickshire
- The Gazette: Thousands of homes in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire left empty
- Southern Daily Echo: New figures show 35 per cent reduction in empty homes across south Hampshire
- Leicester Mercury: Revealed: The number of homes standing empty in Leicestershire
- Bolton News: Number of long-term empty homes in Bolton has almost halved since 2010
- Bury Times: Council pledges more work to bring empty homes back into use, as new figures reveal drop of almost 300 long-term vacant properties
- The Reading Chronicle: The number of empty homes has slightly dropped in Reading since 2010
- Scotland: Daily Record: Council working hard to bring a thousand empty homes back into use
- Wales: Barry & District News: Number of vacant homes in the Vale of Glamorgan among Wales' lowest
- Mix 96: Empty homes in Aylesbury Vale
- Swindon Advertiser: Is there an empty home near you?
- Bradford Telegraph & Argus: Thousands of homes are still standing empty across Bradford district
- Scotland: The Herald: Number of empty houses hits seven-year high in Scotland
- West Bridgford Wire: Thousands of homes standing empty across Nottinghamshire
- Kent Online: Almost 5,000 homes left empty in Kent in 2016
- Wales: South Wales Argus: Thousands of homes in Gwent left empty over six years
- Bob FM: Massive variations in empty home rates across Herts, Beds and Bucks
- Nottingham Post: Number of vacant homes in city and county is decreasing
- Essex Live: Brentwood's empty homes problem is UK's second worst
- Devon Live: Government plans tax rise to force empty homes back into use and help tackle housing shortage
- Grimsby Telegraph: Rate of empty homes in North East Lincolnshire ranked NINTH highest in England
- The Shields Gazette: Number of empty homes on South Tyneside falls 25% in six years
- Hartlepool Mail: Number of empty homes in Hartlepool falls 18% in six years
- Hackney Citizen: Hackney has more than 1,000 empty homes – amid ‘urgent’ housing crisis
- Accrington Observer: Hyndburn still in UK's top 10 for empty homes - despite drop since 2012
- Northamptonshire Telegraph: Corby has fewest empty homes in UK
- Daily Echo: Rise of 60 per cent in number of empty homes in Poole
- Bournemouth: Buzz: Empty homes rise by 60% in Poole
The story was also covered by BBC Midlands Today, BBC WM, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Hereford & Worcester and BBC Radio Lancashire
