empty houses vs. homeless people

empty homes and homeless people in Europe (2014)

In 2014 Feb., The Guardian calculated that around 11 millions homes are empty in Europe [1]. This sum is based on national studies for UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece.

At the same time, The Guardian points out the 4.1 million homeless across Europe; this value is supposed to come from European Union, but the source is not explicited by the authors. This is probably a rought estimation, as it is difficult to define and collect statistics one homeless people, even at the national level [2].

So the ratio between empty houses and homeless people would be something like 3 empty houses per homeless person.

The article explains most of these vacant homes are holidays resorts built before the 2007-8 financial crisis.