Councils to get new powers to take over homes left empty for six months

Councils in England will be given stronger powers to take over homes left empty for six months, under reforms announced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner on Sunday.

Speaking on the first day of Labour’s annual conference, Rayner unveiled sweeping changes to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs), aimed at bringing 300,000 empty homes across England back into use.

The reforms cut the period a property must stand empty before a council can take it over from two years to six months. Ministers also plan to speed up the tribunal process through which councils apply to seize properties, and to protect local authorities from absorbing the costs of taking over empty homes.

EDMOs allow councils to take over the management of an empty home and return it to occupation, while the owner keeps ownership. The orders can restore a home to use for an initial 12 months and up to a total of eight years, though no applications have been made since 2021.

The regime was first created under the Housing Act 2004 with a six-month threshold, which was raised to two years in 2012. The reforms also remove evidential requirements that councils must show issues such as anti-social behaviour or community support for intervention.

Rayner said: “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. That’s why Labour in power is putting the tools in local leaders’ hands to take over desperately needed derelict homes and put them back into use.”

Sources

• Councils will be given more powers to seize empty homes and bring them into use — PA Media via Leigh Journal, 27 September 2026
• Councils will be allowed to take over homes left empty for six months — HotMinute, 27 September 2026