Now Labour hands councils power to seize homes from Britons who don't repair them

The law would be changed to beef up councils' powers if needed, the Prime Minister added.

"You will see rented homes in a poor state of repair too, on many British streets," he told the Labour conference on Tuesday.

"Homes which harm the health of people inside and drag down streets around them.

"The worst of it, often owned by absent landlords who are paid through the benefit system but refuse to reinvest anything in the upkeep of the property."

He then compared "unhealthy" homes to poor quality food - and pledged that the state would "take back control" from Britons.

"We don't let people sell food which damages health, so why allow it with homes?" Mr Burnham asked.

Labour is now set to hand councils the power to seize 'poor-quality' homes from Britons who fail to repair them

PA

Councils would also be helped to build on unused public land, while the the right-to-buy would be stripped from newly-built homes.

Those already in properties would be exempt.

But the property sector is already sounding the alarm over Labour's plans.

Timothy Douglas, the head of policy at industry body Propertymark, said: "Further clarity is needed on how the proposals would work in practice, including carrying out remedial work with a tenant in situ, the responsibilities of different parties, and how properties would be managed if they passed into local authority control or ownership."

It comes after ministers were branded "commies" after Labour handed councils the power to seize homes which lie empty for just six months.

The current period for which a property can be vacant before being taken over by local authorities is two years - but that time is set to be slashed by 75 per cent.

In an extraordinary intervention, Islington South and Finsbury MP Dame Emily Thornberry explicitly called for homes to be "seized".

“I said it in 2020, and I’ll say it again," the veteran Labour MP crowed. "If you leave a home empty long-term in the middle of a housing crisis, it should be seized."

That sparked fury among the Opposition, who accused the Government of attempting to curb Britons' property rights.

Ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss branded Dame Emily and other backers of the scheme "commies".

Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake added: “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."

Former Brexit Secretary Lord Frost, meanwhile, advised Britons not to "risk leaving your house empty".