Frequently asked questions
Last updated: 2 November 2026.
About CADO
What is CADO?
Across the UK, buildings people care about are sitting empty for years - from old pubs to cinemas, shopping malls, and swimming pools. CADO (Communities Against Delinquent Ownership) is an initiative to map these buildings, revealing how big the problem is and connecting together the local people who are fighting to bring them back to life.
CADO is run by Kinship Works in partnership with Jericho Road, Platform Places, and the We’re Right Here Campaign. We’re crowdsourcing the map from people all across the country who know their local area, and we’re using what we learn to connect together local campaigns, share what works, and press for changes in policy.
What does “delinquent ownership” mean?
We use it to describe a situation, not a person. It means a building that matters locally has been left empty or neglected for a long time, with nothing bringing it back into use.
There are many reasons this happens: probate, disputed ownership, insolvency, money problems, planning or legal obstacles, or simply nobody acting. Putting a building on the map doesn’t mean we think its owner has done anything wrong. Our page Which buildings go on the map explains exactly which buildings we include.
Submitting a building
What kind of building can I submit?
Buildings should be empty or mostly unused, and should have been in this state for three or more years (or less if the building is clearly in a state of disrepair). The building should have potential and should matter to local people - we’re focused mainly on buildings in built up areas. The building will probably be stuck, without work already underway to renovate it. Common examples are shuttered pubs, cinemas, shops, churches, halls, or office blocks.
Please don’t submit:
residential homes;
buildings that are being used, even if they look run down;
just because you have a personal disagreement with an owner or landlord;
just because you dislike a building, or disagree with a planning decision.
If you’re part of a local campaign to save a building, we’d love to hear from you, but you might also simply be a concerned local resident. Our page Which buildings go on the map has the full details.
If the state of a building seems dangerous right now, report it to the local council. In an emergency, call 999.
Can I submit a building owned by the council or another public body?
Yes. Buildings owned by councils, the NHS and other public bodies are included in the same way as any other. The map will show the type of owner, such as “council”.
Do I need to be part of a campaign, or know who owns the building?
No. You can submit any building you’ve noticed if you think it matters.
You don’t need to know who the owner is. If you do know what type of organisation or person owns the building, tell us, and, if you can, share where this information came from, for example Companies House.
Do I need permission from my organisation?
Not if you’re submitting as yourself. If you’re submitting on behalf of a group, society or employer, it’s worth checking with them first. We won’t publish your name either way, unless you ask us to (for example, if you want to publicise a campaign).
What information should I give?
All the key headings are in the submission form. The most useful submissions tell us:
where the building is (an address, or a precise location);
what kind of building it is and what condition it’s in;
roughly how long it has been empty;
why it matters locally;
what you’d like to happen to it, and what you think is stopping that;
what type of owner it has, if you know, and where that information came from;
whether a local group or campaign is involved; and
photos, if you have them.
If you’re not sure about something, feel free to answer “not sure”.
What if the building doesn’t have an address?
That’s fine. Try to describe where the building is, or just paste a link to its location in Google Maps or another mapping platform.
Can I upload photos?
Yes, if you took them yourself or have permission to share them.
Please only take photos from a public place or somewhere you’re allowed to be. Don’t go onto the property if you don’t have permission, or climb fences or put yourself at risk.
If you can, please avoid photos that show people, children, number plates, the inside of anyone’s home or non-obvious ways into the building. We may crop, blur or decline photos if they give away sensitive information.
You keep the copyright for any photos you submit. When you upload a photo, you give us permission to use it on the map, in reports and in media coverage. Our website terms explain this in full. We’re happy to credit you by name if you ask us to.
What should I leave out?
anyone’s contact details, or a home address other than the building itself;
information about anyone’s health, money, family or personal circumstances;
accusations of crime or wrongdoing;
details of how to get into the building.
The form also asks if anyone is living in the building, or whether publishing the information could cause a privacy or safety problem.
Can I submit a building that has already been saved?
Yes, please! We also want to show what’s possible when communities bring buildings back into use. Tell us what happened and who made it happen.
What if I can’t use the form?
Email cado@kinship.works with the building’s location and information as described above, and we’ll take it from there.
After you submit
What happens after I submit a building?
You’ll get an email confirming we’ve received your submission.
Our team will check the information against the criteria. We may email you with follow-up questions.
If the building meets the criteria, we may edit the entry into our standard style and publish it on the map.
Please note that we’re a small team, so there may be a backlog and we can’t explain every decision we make in detail.
Will my name or contact details appear on the map?
No. We won’t publish your name, email address or other contact details, unless you ask us to (for example, to publicise a local campaign you’re running).
We use your email only to contact you in relation to your submission, for example to check details or learn more about the building. We would only ever share your details without asking if a court or the law required us to. Signing up for CADO news is optional and separate to submitting information about a building.
Can I update my submission, or an entry on the map?
Yes. Use “Suggest an update” on the map, or email cado@kinship.works. Updates are reviewed as with new submissions.
What else do you do with submissions?
We use what we learn to publish reports, support media coverage and make the case for policy change. Reports use high-level information, not personal details.
We don’t share information with developers, buyers, agents or organisations seeking to make a profit. In limited circumstances we may share higher-level information, such as a company’s name as shown at Companies House, with like-minded partner organisations who are working to support communities, or with campaigners working together to save the same building. We will never share your details without asking you first. Our privacy notice has the full details.
About the map
Do you name the owners of buildings?
No. We don’t publish the names of owners. Each entry shows only the type of owner, such as “private individual”, “company” or “council”.
Does CADO check everything on the map?
We check every entry before it’s published, but we can’t independently verify every detail, and information can go out of date. Each entry shows when we last checked it. If something is wrong, please tell us.
The map is a record of community concern. Don’t rely on the information when deciding whether to buy, invest in or visit a building. Check with the owner or the local council first.
What does being on the map mean?
It means people have told us they’re concerned about the building, and we have judged it to meet our criteria for delinquent ownership. It doesn’t establish why the building is in that condition, who is responsible, or whether anyone has acted unlawfully.
There is always an element of judgement in determining delinquency - one challenge is that many buildings have imminent plans to redevelop them, but then these plans drag on for years or decades without action. We therefore don’t automatically remove buildings just because there is a promise that something will happen in future.
Being on the map does not automatically imply any action, from enforcement, to funding, to a move into community ownership. What it does is help to reveal the scale of the problem, and over time it will help us to link together people working to save buildings, and build the case for policy change.
Does CADO support entering or occupying empty buildings?
No. CADO does not encourage anyone to enter, occupy or damage a building. Please don’t, and we won’t publish submissions that suggest this has happened.
I own, or am connected with, a building on the map. What can I do?
Use “Suggest an update” on the entry, or email cado@kinship.works. You can:
tell us if something is wrong or out of date;
let us know if work is underway, which we’ll note where appropriate;
ask us to add a short response of up to 150 words to the entry; or
raise a privacy or safety concern.
We look at significant concerns as soon as possible, and within five working days, and may hide an entry while we validate a concern.
Still have a question? Email us at cado@kinship.works
See also: Which buildings go on the map, our website terms and our privacy notice.