TL;DR – the short answer
In England, the median time a social home stood empty before being relet was 30 days in 2024/25, up from 29 days the year before. The average was 21 days between 2015/16 and 2019/20, according to MHCLG. For housing associations, void rent loss was 1.8% of gross rent in 2025 (Regulator of Social Housing). With a record 135,580 households in temporary accommodation in March 2026, every day a home sits empty has a financial cost and a human one. The biggest gains usually come from overlapping works, cleaning and inspections rather than running them one after another.
A void property earns no rent, still costs money to secure and insure, and keeps a household waiting. For housing providers in Shropshire, the West Midlands and beyond, void turnaround is one of the few performance measures that hits finances, tenant satisfaction and homelessness pressures at the same time.
This article looks at the latest national data on how long social homes stay empty, what that costs, and the practical steps that shorten the gap between keys back and keys out.
30 days
Median time a social home was vacant before relet in 2024/25
Source: MHCLG, 2025
1.8%
Housing association rent lost to voids in 2025, as a share of gross rent
Source: RSH, 2026
135,580
Households in temporary accommodation in England on 31 March 2026, a record high
Source: MHCLG, 2026
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes official figures each year from its CORE lettings data. Its release for April 2024 to March 2025, published in November 2025, found [1]:
| Measure (England) | 2024/25 figure |
|---|---|
| New social housing lettings | 263,000 (up 1% on 2023/24) |
| Share of new lettings that were relets of existing stock | 86% |
| Median days vacant before relet | 30 days (29 days in 2023/24) |
| Average days vacant, 2015/16 to 2019/20 | 21 days (consistent across the period) |
| Average days vacant during Covid-19 | Rose to 28 days and has stayed comparatively high since |
Put simply, voids now take around a week longer to turn around than they did before the pandemic, and the figure has not returned to its earlier level [1].
Plain-English definition: a void is a rented property that is empty between tenancies. Void turnaround or relet time is the number of days from the previous tenancy ending to the new tenancy starting. Providers often split it into “key to key”, “works” and “letting” stages.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) 2025 Global Accounts of private registered providers, published in January 2026, show rent lost from void properties at 1.8% of gross rent in 2025, compared with 1.9% in 2024 [2]. The regulator notes that void levels remain raised compared with the sector’s pre-pandemic position, with the highest levels among providers that have a large share of supported housing, care home units or housing for older people [2].
Rent loss is only part of the cost. Every void day also means:
MHCLG’s statutory homelessness statistics for January to March 2026 show 135,580 households in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2026, a record high. Of those, 86,460 were households with children [3]. Social homes are the main route out of temporary accommodation for many of those families, so shaving days off void times makes a real difference.
From our work with housing providers, the delays usually happen at the hand-offs between stages, not within any one task:
| Stage | Common cause of delay | How to win days back |
|---|---|---|
| Keys returned | Late notice, keys not returned, belongings left behind | Pre-termination inspection visits; clear clearance procedures |
| Void inspection | Waiting for a surveyor slot | Inspect within 24–48 hours; use photo-led digital surveys |
| Clearance | Separate contractor booking | Combine clearance with the first clean in one visit |
| Repairs and safety checks | Trades arriving one after another; waiting on gas and electrical tests | Schedule trades in parallel; book compliance checks at inspection |
| Cleaning | Clean booked only after all trades finish | Split into a builders’ clean and a final sparkle clean timed to the viewing |
| Letting | Viewings arranged only after works are signed off | Match and advertise during works; accompanied viewings while the property is near completion |
Since 27 October 2025, social landlords in England have had to meet legal timeframes under the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, known as Awaab’s Law. Landlords must investigate and make safe emergency hazards within 24 hours, investigate significant hazards within 10 working days, and complete relevant safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding [4].
Those duties relate to occupied homes, but they make the void period more important. It is the best opportunity to deal properly with damp and mould, ventilation and disrepair before a new tenant moves in, rather than facing a statutory clock afterwards. A thorough void process that treats mould, cleans extractor fans and checks for leaks reduces the risk of early hazard reports.
Void turnaround: quick wins for housing providers
Cleaning often looks like a small part of the void process, but it is the last thing an incoming tenant notices, and it is often the step that holds up the handover. Agreeing the cleaning scope before the keys come back, and programming it around the target re-let date, removes one of the most common bottlenecks.
We already clean void properties for social housing providers. Prime Facility Services has more than 20 years’ experience, and from our Telford depot and Dudley office we cover Shropshire, Staffordshire and the wider West Midlands, including Birmingham and the Black Country. We are accredited to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 (since 2010) and to Safecontractor (since 2013).
Housing associations, smaller social landlords, property managers, estate agents and portfolio landlords can all use these void services:
Three scopes: a re-let clean, a deep void, and a specialist void for odour, nicotine or heavy neglect. Each is programmed around your target re-let date, with photographs of the completed clean filed against the address.
A total clean for poorly kept properties, including cases of hoarding, infestation, deodorising or hazardous waste, for local authorities and landlords.
Thorough cleans for landlords between lets, from stain removal to deep carpet cleaning.
DBS-checked, trained and supervised teams, with a risk assessment and method statement where the property needs one.
What a voids arrangement can include
Each property is quoted on its condition, the scope and the timescale, so the clean matches what the address actually needs.
Get a void clean quote for your next re-let
Call 0800 566 8894 or send the address, condition and target re-let date to get started.
MHCLG data shows the median time an existing social home was vacant before being relet was 30 days in 2024/25, up from 29 days in 2023/24. The average was 21 days between 2015/16 and 2019/20.
The Regulator of Social Housing’s 2025 Global Accounts show rent loss from void properties at 1.8% of gross rent in 2025, down from 1.9% in 2024.
MHCLG reports that vacant days rose to 28 during Covid-19 and have stayed comparatively high since. Contractor capacity, compliance checks and the condition of returning homes are common factors providers cite.
Awaab’s Law sets timeframes for hazards reported in occupied social homes, in force since 27 October 2025. The void period is the best time to fix damp, mould and disrepair before a new tenancy starts.
Inspect quickly after keys are returned, raise all works at once, run trades in parallel, book safety checks early, combine clearance with cleaning, and advertise during works.
It is a housing provider’s written definition of the condition a home must be in before it is let, covering safety, repairs, decoration and cleanliness.
At minimum, kitchens and bathrooms, appliances that are staying, internal glass, skirting, switches and floors, with high-touch points sanitised and leftover rubbish removed. Heavier soiling or neglect needs a deeper scope. Prime Facility Services offers re-let, deep void and specialist void cleans for housing providers, with photographic evidence. Call 0800 566 8894 to discuss a property.
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