Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to provide funding for councils to support long-term empty homes being put back into use.

The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country.

Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.

They can also access funding through the Affordable Homes Programme and Local Authority Housing Fund. Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities can also receive the same level of reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one.

Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes 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. More information can be found on gov.uk here.

The government outlined its intent to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises in the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024.