UK to look at copying Italy by offering historic homes for £1
Key Points
- MPs recommend a UK heritage-to-housing scheme modelled on Italy's €1 houses
- Historic England estimates 670,000 homes could come from vacant historic buildings
- That equals almost half the government's 1.5 million homes target for 2029
- The scheme would pair discounted sales with restoration deadlines
- Heritage minister Baroness Twycross had not met the housing minister on the issue
MPs have called on the government to introduce a UK version of Italy’s €1 homes scheme, after evidence that up to 670,000 homes could be created from vacant historic buildings.
The recommendation comes in a report published on Monday (13 July) by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which found that empty and under-used heritage buildings could deliver almost half of the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes in England by July 2029.
The 670,000 figure comes from Historic England, which has identified vacant town centre buildings, flats above shops, redundant mills, banks and barracks, and surplus public sector property as candidates for conversion.
The committee recommends a “heritage-to-housing” scheme combining discounted transfer or leasing of heritage buildings with time-limited restoration requirements, financial support for renovation and safeguards to ensure long-term occupation.
It said the model should draw on Italy’s €1 house initiatives, under which historic buildings in depopulating towns are sold for a nominal sum on condition that buyers restore them.
Tanya Szendeffy, senior conservation and design officer at Lewes and Eastbourne Councils, told the committee the Italian model could be adapted for Britain.
“We should do the same to fit local needs,” she said, suggesting partnerships between local government and developers, with communities able to rent out the restored properties.
The committee acknowledged drawbacks in the Italian scheme, including heavy renovation costs, strict restoration deadlines and properties bought for speculative rather than long-term use. It said any UK version must ensure “smooth bureaucratic processes” and long-term occupation.
MPs found the potential of heritage-led housing “under-realised”, with witnesses reporting that it is often cheaper to build new than to adapt a historic building.
Ben Cowell, Director General of Historic Houses, told the inquiry that “the best protection for a building in the long term is for it to be occupied, used, utilised, lived in and loved”.
The committee criticised the government for failing to prioritise reuse, noting that heritage minister Baroness Twycross had not met the housing minister to discuss the issue.
It recommends a “reuse-first” approach to housing policy, embedded in the National Planning Policy Framework, with regular structured meetings between the two ministers.
Planned changes to the framework would recognise reuse of vacant buildings as a public benefit, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport told MPs.
