A Labour peer, Lord Bird, has urged the government to introduce an empty homes strategy to help end homelessness. He claimed that nearly two million homes have been lost from the social housing sector through Right to Buy over the past 40 years.
His comments come as councils in England are set to gain greater powers to bring long-term empty homes back into use. Under proposed reforms, Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) would allow local authorities to manage and rent out empty properties for up to seven years. The period a property must be empty before becoming eligible for an EDMO would be reduced from two years to six months.
During a House of Lords debate, Lord Greenhalgh highlighted that the number of homeless people has increased from 269,000 in 2019 to 330,410, with rough sleeping also reaching record levels. He called for a focus on the 309,000 homes that have been empty for over six months, up from 248,000 in 2022, and suggested a dedicated fund to bring these homes back into use.
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage acknowledged the objective of bringing empty homes back into use but questioned whether a new national strategy was the right response. She suggested that a single national approach might be overly prescriptive due to varying local circumstances and could divert council resources from practical work.