All levels of government must act to bring empty homes back into use
The Scottish Green housing spokesperson, Ariane Burgess, has called for the Scottish Government to make good on its promise for new powers to bring thousands of empty homes back into use.
Earlier this year, Ms Burgess secured a commitment from the Scottish Government to strengthen enforcement powers and reform compulsory purchase orders to make it easier to acquire properties.
The enactment of other Scottish Green policies have enabled Councils to more effectively monitor second and empty homes in their areas and to increase council tax levied on them in order to motivate owners to renovate, sell or rent properties.
As a result, data released earlier this month showed that there were 21,606 second homes and 43,538 empty properties in Scotland.
The data, using council tax records, showed that 73% of the empty properties (31,596) had been empty for over a year. It also shows that the number of second homes had fallen by 10% in the last year.
Ms Burgess said:
"Bringing empty homes back into use is a win-win – it can provide much-needed housing and revitalises communities.
“While the vast majority of people will want to see empty homes brought back into use voluntarily, there are some that are stuck in a broken and cumbersome system. It is in those cases that councils need powers with real teeth.
"We need robust powers to ensure that long-term empty homes are brought back into use and I look forward to hearing the outcome of the compulsory purchase orders review in the New Year.
“In the Highlands & Islands region that I represent there are 6,823 homes that have been empty for more than a year and a further 7,870 that have been empty for six months or more. That’s almost 15,000 homes lying empty in the midst of a housing emergency.
“The Scottish Government and our local authorities must look for innovative ways to get those homes back into use. We know this can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of new buildings.
“It’s also vital that all levels of government are working to support renovation and retro-fit of empty homes. Some councils are doing brilliant work using in-house specialist empty homes officers, but the recently-announced planning hub could also provide a resource for Councils to call on.”