If you have moved out but still own your previous home in England, check how long it has been empty and keep evidence of your plans for it. From 5 November 2026, the minimum period of complete vacancy for new applications for an interim Empty Dwelling Management Order, or EDMO, has returned to six months, having previously been two years. The change applies to applications submitted to the tribunal from that date. Read the 2026 amendment order.

An EDMO allows a council to take over management of a qualifying empty home to bring it back into occupation. Reaching six months triggers no automatic takeover. The council must seek tribunal authorisation and satisfy the legal requirements for an interim order.

What if your former home is for sale?

The existing exception for a property that is genuinely being marketed for sale or letting remains in place. This matters if you have moved before selling, a buyer has withdrawn or you are arranging a tenancy. Keep your agent’s instructions, dated listings, viewing records and correspondence about the sale or proposed letting. These help explain what you are doing if the council contacts you. A listing alone should not be treated as a guaranteed exemption regardless of the circumstances. Read the exceptions in article 3.

Other exceptions cover particular circumstances, including some temporary absences and absences to receive or provide care. The rules set conditions for each. If one may apply, give the council the relevant facts and ask it to explain its assessment in writing.

What the council still has to establish

The tribunal must be satisfied about more than the length of vacancy. It must be satisfied that the home has no reasonable prospect of being occupied soon, and that an interim order offers a reasonable prospect of bringing it back into use. It must also consider the owner’s rights and the community’s interests. See section 134 of the Housing Act 2004.

The three-month advance notification requirement also remains. The legislation requires written notice of the council’s decision to apply at least three months before the application, or all reasonable efforts to give that notice before the three-month period begins. Keep your contact address current with the council and respond promptly to correspondence. Read the procedural requirements in article 4.

The new order removes two specific requirements to supply information about nuisance and community support. It retains the tribunal process and the existing exceptions. Applications submitted before 5 November remain subject to the previous rules under the order’s transitional provision.

Keep a practical plan for the empty period

Record when the home became wholly unoccupied, the reason it remains empty and the next steps towards sale, letting or reoccupation. If building work is delaying matters, retain the work schedule and relevant applications. Repairs are relevant to the council’s assessment, but should not be assumed to give every property an automatic exception.

Our guide to delayed or failed sales can help you review the moving timetable. Use the housing overlap calculator to keep the costs of retaining your previous home visible while you work through that plan. If you receive a formal EDMO notice, speak to the council’s empty homes team and seek independent legal advice about the particular property and any response deadline.

This change applies in England. The order’s legislative extent includes England and Wales, but its application is expressly limited to England.