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EMPTY HOUSES A recent Guardian report noted that Airbnb properties have tripled over recent years. So much so that In some areas they can be 1 in 4 of local houses. Dan Wilson Craw Director of the pressure group Generation Rent says ‘The unchecked growth of on line holiday lettings is depriving communities of much needed homes. In rural areas and cities alike, the story is the same: young adults can’t afford to settle down in the areas they grew up in’ Official statistics have also revealed that the number of vacant properties rose by 5.3 per cent last year. Simon Youel in the New Statesman points out that ‘according to the economic laws of supply and demand, this should mean that we see more affordable housing, rather than rocketing prices. However, as current regulation makes it more feasible for landlords, speculators or second home buyers to snap up homes, even keeping them empty as assets rather than places for people to live’.