Empty homes represent waste, financial expense and missed opportunity. They can blight communities, attract vandals and squatters and tie up the resources of local authorities and the emergency services. Bringing empty homes back into use is a sustainable way to meet future housing demand and helps to alleviate pressure to develop greenfield sites.

• Introduction

Background information on the empty homes problem and how it affects the community.

• Empty Dwelling Management Orders

The Housing Act 2004 provides a new discretionary power for local authorities to take over the management of long-term privately owned empty homes.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Response to Consultation on Secondary Legislation and (ii) Empty Dwelling Management Orders: Consultation on Secondary Legislation.

• Tax incentives
The Government has introduced a range of tax incentives to encourage the re-use of empty properties.

• Statistics
Data on the number of empty homes (vacant dwellings) broken down by local authority.

Publications on empty homes
• ODPM in association with a range of property industry organisations, has produced comprehensive guidance on bringing empty property back into use. This section also includes information on research

Empty property: unlocking the potential - an implementation handbook

Empty homes: temporary management, lasting solutions