Time to act on Empty Homes

Lib Dems call for real action to bring empty homes back into use.

At a time when homelessness is on the rise it is a scandal that only one in 13 Councils in England and Wales (The Guardian 1st Jan 2018) are making use of the full powers* (gained in 2006) they have to bring empty homes back into use.

Liberal Democrats say that the whole system needs reviewing as clearly it isn't working and it is time for Councils to act to take over properties lying empty for long periods of time.

*The Housing Act 2004 made provision for local authorities to take over management of certain residential premises that had been empty for at least six months by seeking an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO).

Data published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) showed that, as of October 2015, there were 600,179 empty homes in England.

Latest figures for:

Waveney - 498 vacant homes 168 (2 years), 85 (5 years), 41 (10 years).

No information is available for the number brought back into use in 2016/17 or the number of EDMOs in past 5 years).