The lender revealed that two thirds of the population believe the government needs to do more to combat the problem of empty homes - defined as properties left vacant for more than six months.
A quarter of people believe that existing tax benefits should only apply if the owner makes the property their primary residence, or sells the property within 12 months, and that council tax discount should be up to 50 per cent.
Halifax called for VAT and council tax benefits to apply for 12 months for those people who took on an empty home and either made it their primary residence or sold it within this time. This is to encourage houses to be re-introduced into the housing stock. Less than one in ten believe the discounts should apply regardless of the owner's plans for the property as they currently do.
With the aim of providing a more level playing field and unifying local authorities' action, the lender has also called upon the government to extend the reduced 5 per cent rate of VAT for restoring an empty home to all properties vacant for more than 6 months, not just properties vacant for more than 2 years.
Halifax proposes that buyers of empty homes should receive up to a 50 per cent discount on their council tax for a maximum 12 month period, of which up to six months can be after renovations are complete. These changes however will only apply if the owner makes the property their primary residency, finds a lodger, or sells the property within a 12 month period.
Jaedon Green, head of mortgage sales at Halifax, said: "It's great to see that the public is behind our campaign to bring empty homes back into the housing stock. Halifax calls on the government to extend existing VAT and Council tax discounts to encourage the renovation of empty houses, thus making them homes" .
