Thousands of empty houses in Barnet should be used to help solve the national housing crisis, campaigners argue.

Action on Empty Homes said it is “exceptionally worrying” that more than half a million homes lie unused across England, while tens of thousands of families are living in temporary accommodation.

The campaign group’s analysis of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show that 4,681 homes in Barnet were not being used as of October, up from 4,366 the year before. Of these, 1,378 were long-term vacancies, unoccupied for at least six months, and 3,303 were second homes. This means one in every 33 homes in Barnet were out of use – above the average of one in 47 across England.

There were 268,000 long-term empty homes across the country – 19% more than the previous October, the biggest annual increase since current records began in 2004. A further 263,000 are classed as second homes which are not in residential use long-term and are not charged extra council tax when they are unused.

Action on Empty Homes said that the 531,000 properties without residents should instead offer “vitally needed housing” to the homeless.

Director Will McMahon said: “It can’t be right that in the last four years we have seen an escalating housing crisis while the number of long-term empty homes keeps rising.

“There are over 100,000 children languishing in overcrowded and temporary accommodation at a time when we know that overcrowded housing is being linked to the spread of the coronavirus and to higher mortality. “t will be impossible to ‘build back better’ if we keep letting our housing crisis get worse.”

Separate figures from MHCLG show there were 2,467 households in temporary accommodation in Barnet as of September, including 2,678 children. They are among 59,400 families, including 120,600 children, in temporary accommodation across England.

Housing charity Shelter said it is frustrating to see so many empty properties, but a new generation of social homes is needed to solve the problem.

Chief executive Polly Neate said: “Tackling these empty homes is not an adequate alternative to building more genuinely affordable housing. We could fill every one of these properties and we still wouldn’t have solved the chronic housing shortage we face.”

A further 400,000 vacant homes across England had been used within the last six months, including 2,173 in Barnet.

An MHCLG spokesman said: “We have given councils powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes, including the power to increase council tax by up to 300% on these properties, and take over the management of homes that have been empty for a long period.

“They also receive the same New Homes Bonus for bringing an empty home back into use as for building a new one.”

A Barnet Council spokesperson said:

“Barnet has hundreds of vulnerable families in housing need who are looking for a long-term home. We are doing everything we can to help them by building and buying new affordable homes, and through our homelessness service, Housing Options. All applicants are assessed on a priority need through the Council’s banding system, to ensure those who are most vulnerable are given priority.

“We offer Empty Property Grants of up to £25,500 for homeowners to bring their properties back into residential use. We have brought more than 550 homes back into use through council involvement in the past three years.

“Our grants give homeowners a great incentive to help Barnet’s social housing tenants by offering them a guaranteed monthly rental income for a minimum of five years.

“Having homes occupied also means a reduction in the risk of vandalism, squatting or burglaries. It’s a win-win. You can find out more at www.barnet.gov.uk/emptyproperties.”

Questions posed to the Mayor of London in 2014 show that Barnet Council was under scrutiny for their handling of empty homes in the borough. The same year the Guardian revealed that one-third of properties on The Bishop’s Avenue – where homes are worth an average £15 million – are empty, with many falling into disrepair. In January, My London News reported that due to legacies of colonialism offshore property owners buy on The Bishop’s Avenue to fulfil a “dream of having a piece of English heritage” then redevelop the properties.