Enforcement Action
When an owner is unwilling to cooperate and their empty home is causing issues, local authorities can take enforcement action
Options available to local authorities considering taking legal action:
An EDMO gives the local authority the right to possess a private unoccupied property that has been empty for a minimum of 2 years, without affecting the right of ownership. The authority must try and work with the owner to bring the property back into use, if that fails, the EDMO is granted. Any works carried out to the property is funded by the authority and recouped through rent proceeds.
EDMO’s are spilt into two parts, interim and final. The interim EDMO gives the homeowner 12 months to work with the authority and bring the property back into use. If no agreement is reached within that timeframe a final EDMO can be issued lasting for 7 years.
A CPO allows a local authority to acquire a property by legal means, without consent of the owner. CPO’s are usually issued if the owner of a property refuses to bring it back into use, if a property owner can’t be traced or if a property has been empty for a long period of time and is causing a detrimental effect to the local area.
An Enforced Sale allows a local authority to force the sale of an empty property, allowing them to recover incurred maintenance costs. The property owner is issued an improvement notice, to carry out any required work. If the owner does not comply with the improvement notice, the work then defaults to the local authority and a charge can be added to the title register. If the charge isn’t repaid, the authority can apply to HM Land Registry to enforce the sale of the property.
If the amenity of an area or the adjoining area is adversely affected by the condition of land or a property, the local authority may serve the owner and occupier with a notice. The notice will advise what steps to take to remedy the condition of the land or property and a specified timescale. If the work is not completed and the owner doesn’t comply with the notice, the local authority may prosecute for non-compliance and undertake the work in default, making a charge against the property.
Local authorities can acquire land for redevelopment in order to improve local communities via a section 26, which allows compulsory acquisition of said land.
If a property poses a danger to the public, the local authority can serve a notice to the owner. They can also carry out work on the property in default if required.
Gives the local authority the power to prevent a building from becoming a danger to the public and stop any unauthorised access.
The local authority can issue a demolition order if it not financially viable to bring a dilapidated property back into use.
