Help George tackle Britain’s empty homes crisis

I received an email from George Clarke who is running a campaign to tackle Britain’s empty homes crisis. Something that has been going on for decades cannot be called a “crisis”, but he says that there are 350,000 empty homes, of which 85% are privately owned. He calls for

1. A law change to give communities and individuals the power to turn abandoned properties in their local area into homes for people who need them.
2. Access to low-cost loan funds for people who need financial help to get empty properties back into use.

“Many empty home owners would be happy to find occupants for their houses if only they had some help. It is important to find ways to help them get their houses back into use”, he explains.

Why don’t they just sell them?