There have been a lot of emotive comments all over the internet around Labour's plans to 'steal your home' if it's empty.  What's the truth? Angela Rayner announced it at Labour's conference on 27 September 2026.

EDMO is real, but also not new

The tool available to councils is the Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO).  It was created by the 2004 Housing Act and came into force in 2006.

So for about 20 years, the ability of any council that allows them to take over management of a property has existed.

It's not confiscation or compulsory purchase. 

Councils can take over management of a property and return it to occupation.  

Interim orders generally run for twelve months, but a final order can last up to seven years.

General points for EDMO

• The council lets the property and collects rent
• They can recover the cost of taking possession, making the property habitable, and maintaining it
• Any money received above the costs incurred by the council is returned to the owner of the property at the end of the order
• The owner of the property remains the owner
• The council may register a charge over the property until its costs are recovered
• The owner is generally not entitled to any compensation
• The owner can appeal an order or ask the council to revoke the order early
• The owner can sell the property while an EDMO is in place

What's changing?

Less than some are suggesting.  At the moment, a property must be unoccupied for at least two years before an EDMO can be considered.  The changes:

• The term will be reduced from two years to six months
• Councils would not need to provide evidence of problems like anti-social behaviour
• Speed up the tribunal process, as well as protect councils from absorbing the cost of using the order

Critics are concerned for good reason, though.

Six months is a short window.  Houses can be empty that long because they are being renovated, inherited, in probate, or simply left empty due to illness or care.  Dropping the evidence requirement means there need to be other protections in place. There may be, but we don't know yet.

Reality check

There are an estimated 300,000 empty homes in England alone.  From what information I can find, no applications for an EDMO have been made since 2021.  These powers have barely been used in the 20-odd years they've been available.

The reality check is that, from my experience, councils struggle to handle simple tasks within a reasonable timeframe; they will struggle to cope with the complexity of taking over the management of empty homes, including their maintenance.  Certainly not at any scale.

Are these changes going to lead them to rush to take over empty homes?  I highly doubt it.

Maybe this is simply scaremongering to encourage empty homes to be put to use under the new threat of it being done for the owner, not sure; I can only speculate.

We still have to see the details behind this proposal, so more to come on this.  Should anyone be worried?  Not yet, but it's worth watching once we see the details and timelines.

Just my opinion, as always, not legal advice.  It just seems that some of the coverage and commentary are not well balanced.  The tool is being treated as new rather than as an amendment.