The Government has drafted plans to seize homes left empty for 6 months, to use to house the homeless. The six-month period will apply to all empty homes, regardless of the reason they are unoccupied, unless the property is on the market for sale or to let, when they are exempt from the rule, which falls under the Housing Act of 2004.
Our view
This depends upon how far they force the issue. It is obscene that houses are empty when people need a place to live but likewise, if you own property, what right does anyone have to tell you what to do with it?