Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Empty Dwelling Management Orders at enabling local authorities to bring empty properties back into use; and whether he plans to introduce new ways of enabling local authorities to achieve that goal.

It is for local housing authorities to decide when to use their powers to deal with empty properties, and they have the flexibility to focus on locally determined priorities and allocate their resources accordingly.

The Government is taking action to encourage empty homes back into use. In certain circumstances, local authorities can exercise powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes in order to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal.

Similarly, Compulsory Purchase Orders can be used by local authorities to acquire empty properties where the authority can demonstration that the acquisition would be in the public interest.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will give councils the power to apply the 100% premium on properties left empty after a year, rather than the current two years. The premium will provide local leaders with additional flexibility to help address the impacts of empty homes and improve the sustainability of local services where they consider that appropriate.