An Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) is a new power introduced in England from April 2006 which allows councils to take over the management of residential properties, where an owner of an empty property has turned down offers of help to bring the property back into use and can offer no good reason why the property should remain empty. The council would facilitate any capital works needed to allow the property to be leased and use the property to accommodate people in housing need.
Once a dwelling has been left unoccupied for at least six months then, subject to various exceptions, a council may seek authorisation from a Residential Property Tribunal (RPT) to make an interim EDMO which will usually last for 12 months. This may then be followed by a final EDMO which will last for a fixed period of up to 7 years.
Under an interim EDMO the council must still seek the written permission of the owner in order to occupy the dwelling. Where such consent cannot be obtained, the interim EDMO may be revoked and replaced with a final EDMO. The making of a final EDMO can be arranged by the council and does not require the approval of a RPT. The council does not require the consent of the owner to grant occupation rights to the dwelling during the existence of a final EDMO.
For more information on EDMO’s, see the 'read more' section on this page.