Powers designed to help English councils bring empty homes back into use were used just 17 times in 2014, according to figures obtained by the Green party MEP Keith Taylor.
Empty dwelling management orders (Edmos) were introduced by the Labour government to make it easier for local councils to take possession of properties that had fallen into disuse. The orders allow a council to take temporary ownership of an empty home while it works with the owner to make it habitable and bring it back into use.
However, councils said they were too complex to use, and the housing minister described them as an “ineffective” policy from the last government.
The latest government figures show that more than 600,000 homes lie empty in England. Councils are using powers like council tax charges and compulsory orders to help to bring them back into use, but the scheme designed for the purpose is not being used.
When Edmos were launched in 2006, councils could apply after a property had been empty for just six months, but in 2011, the Conservatives overturned these “heavy handed rules”, and extended the period to two years.
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