The Empty Homes Agency (EHA) has said it is disappointed by the government's decision not to reward local councils for bringing empty homes into use.
Ministers had planned to offer financial incentives to communities taking action to restore homes that had lain empty, providing much-needed affordable housing.
But this week they announced that councils would instead be rewarded for giving the go ahead to new house building and not for making use of empty properties.
David Ireland, chief executive of the EHA, said: "Given the government's continued obsession with new house building this is depressingly predictable - but that doesn't make it any less disappointing."
He said encouraging new house building at the expense of bringing empty homes into use was not in the best interests of the country.
Meanwhile, London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a £60 million rescue package to bring the estimated 84,000 empty properties across the capital back into use as affordable homes.
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