Councils handed power to seize YOUR home if it goes empty for just six months
Labour has handed councils the power to seize Britons' homes if they lie empty for just six months in a push to solve the country's housing crisis.
The current period for which a property can be vacant before being taken over by local authorities is two years - but ministers are set to slash that time by 75 per cent.
Councils are able to seize homes with an Empty Dwelling Management Order, which leaves the property still privately owned, but hands authorities the power to take control and rent it out for up to seven years.
Current guidelines require councils to provide proof of issues - such as anti-social behaviour - before seizing the properties.
However, the Government is set to scrap this requirement to make it easier to take over management of properties and enable officials to wield the power more readily.
Ministers are also weighing up whether to shield authorities from costs associated with seizing control.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has insisted the radical shake-up may "help solve the housing crisis”.
The move has sparked fury among senior Tory figures and campaigners, who have accused the Government of attempting to curb Britons' property rights.
Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake wrote on social media: “The loony left are always keen to revoke our fundamental rights when it becomes convenient to do so; on this occasion, property rights.
“Seizing someone’s home because you disapprove of how they use it is classic socialist authoritarianism.”
Meanwhile, ex-Brexit Minister Lord Frost advised Britons not to "risk leaving your house empty".
"After six months the Government will come for it and rent it to someone else," he said.
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Labour has insisted the proposals will focus on properties left vacant for long periods of times rather than those left empty during building works or undergoing a change of hands.
Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, hailed the announcement as "great news".
She said: “I said it in 2020, and I’ll say it again. If you leave a home empty long-term in the middle of a housing crisis, it should be seized."
Ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss branded her, and other backers of the scheme, "commies".
According to official figures, over 300,000 properties in England alone were left long-term vacant last year, accounting for 1.2 per cent of the country's total housing stock.
In October 2025, 303,185 homes had been left empty for six months or more - an increase of more than 14 per cent compared to the year before.
However, the number of properties classed as vacant includes those emptied for renovations, awaiting probate or being readied to be sold.
Despite councils having the power to apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order for over 20 years, ministers have claimed there have been zero requests made since 2021.
The current two-year threshold was brought in by the coalition Government in 2012.
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