Councils to Seize Homes Left Empty for Six Months
The threshold for an empty dwelling management order falls from two years to six, in the first policy of the conference. England has some 300,000 long-term empty homes, and not a single such order has been applied for since 2021. Evidential requirements on anti-social behaviour and community support are being dropped to simplify tribunal applications, and councils will be able to take over management of a property while ownership stays with the owner.
The reason the power has gone unused is the paperwork rather than the threshold, which is why removing the evidential tests may matter more than halving the wait. Angela Rayner framed it as a reversal: “with so many children and families still in need of a safe and secure home, we can’t sit by and allow 300,000 long-term empty dwellings to be left unused”, adding that the government is “reversing the Tories’ damaging changes by supporting councils to intervene and use untapped powers”. The two-year threshold was Eric Pickles’s 2012 change, trailed a year earlier as a civil-liberties protection. Ministers also want to shield councils from the costs, which is the detail that will decide whether any council actually tries. Watch how many orders are applied for in the first year.