LANDLORDS who leave badly-needed homes lying empty will be punished with higher council tax to end the "scandal", the Liberal Democrats vowed yesterday.

Plans were unveiled for an “empty homes premium" to bring vacant properties into use – or give local authorities extra cash to plough back into improving their own housing stock.

There are 737,000 "ghost homes" across England, of which around 300,000 have been empty for six months or more. Around 90% are privately-owned.

They include almost 40,000 empty properties across Merseyside, North Cheshire and West Lancashire.

Of those, around 45% – 18,062 – have not been lived in for six months.

By far the highest number of empty homes is in Liverpool (11,733), followed by Wirral (6,318), Sefton (6,156), Cheshire West (4,797) and St Helens (2,639).

Lib-Dem sources suggested town halls would be allowed to double the level of council tax on any home left vacant for two years, although the plans are only a consultation, at present.

Andrew Stunell, the housing minister, told the Birmingham conference: "It's a scandal, in fact it's a crime – when thousands of families cannot get a decent home.

"The premium will act as a spur for landlords to bring their properties back into use quickly. And, where they don't, it will provide an extra revenue stream for local authorities to plough back into bringing more homes back into use."