The Housing (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) (Prescribed Period of Time and Additional Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2012

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Housing Act 2004 (“the Act”) deals with the making of interim and final empty dwelling management orders which may be made by local housing authorities in respect of dwellings which are wholly unoccupied.

An interim empty dwelling management order is an order made by a local housing authority to enable it to take steps for the purpose of securing that a dwelling becomes and continues to be occupied. A final empty dwelling management order is made in succession to an interim empty dwelling management order for the purpose of securing that a dwelling is occupied (section 132 of the Act).

Section 133 of the Act sets out the basis upon which a local housing authority may make an interim empty dwelling management order, which includes authorisation of the making of the Order by a residential property tribunal under section 134 of the Act. Section 134 sets out the matters upon which the residential property tribunal must be satisfied before it authorises the making of an interim empty dwelling management order; these include that the dwelling has been wholly unoccupied for at least 6 months or such longer period as may be prescribed and that other prescribed requirements have been complied with by the local housing authority.

The Housing (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) (Prescribed Exceptions and Requirements) (England) Order 2006, (SI 2006/367), prescribes requirements that a local housing authority must have complied with when making an application to a residential property tribunal for authorisation of an interim empty dwelling management order.

Article 2 of this Order prescribes a period of time of at least two years for which the dwelling must be wholly unoccupied, in substitution for the period of at least 6 months specified in section 134(2)(a) of the Act.

Article 3 of this Order prescribes additional requirements that must be complied with before a residential property tribunal may authorise the interim empty dwelling management order.

Article 4 of this Order provides the transitional provision that Article 2 and 3 will not apply to applications submitted to the residential property tribunal prior to the day on which this Order is commenced.