Squatting in vacant commercial property is on the increase. Rising house prices, a shortage of public housing, unemployment and changes to benefits means that an increasing number of people have nowhere to live. National figures for squatting fluctuate, but it is estimated there are around 20,000 to 50,000 people squatting in the UK compared with 9,500 in 1995. London property managers are seeing the highest squatting rates (83%), followed by the South-East (78%), Wales and the North-West (75%), and the Midlands (73%). In the South West area alone there are 40,000 people waiting for homes and approximately 70,000 vacant buildings. The Office for National Statistics has cited that Cornwall has the highest concentration of second homes than any other local authority in England and Wales, with a least one home in every 17 lying empty for at least some of the year.
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