Scottish housing secretary Mairi McAllan has focused stopping “unacceptable” ranges of empty houses within the nation.
She that she was going to fund extra empty houses officers to deliver privately owned homes again into use.
McAllan mentioned: “Bringing houses again into use is a crucial a part of our plan to sort out the housing emergency – when too many households are struggling to search out someplace to dwell, it’s unacceptable to me that so many homes are mendacity empty for lengthy durations.”
Officers work on the £2m a yr Scottish authorities funding within the Scottish Empty Properties Partnership (SEHP).
This organisation seeks to determine empty houses and encourage house owners to deliver these properties onto the market. There are already empty houses officers throughout many Scottish councils, and the organisation has introduced just below 11,000 houses to the market within the fifteen years because it was established.
Figures revealed by the Scottish Empty Properties Partnership (SEHP) said that in 2023/24 there have been 46,217 houses empty for six months in Scotland, however this determine falls to twenty-eight,280 for houses which were vacant for greater than a yr.
Concentrating on empty and second houses usually are not the reply to Scottish housing shortages, in line with Scotland’s largest letting and property company DJ Alexander.
David Alexander, the chief government officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, mentioned: “There may be little doubt that regenerating and reviving houses which have been empty for a considerable time frame could be useful for an space.
“A property that’s an eyesore in a village, city or metropolis can solely be improved by renovation.
“The priority is that by conflating the problem of the present housing scarcity in Scotland with virtually simply over 28,000 houses empty for a yr misses the purpose that even when all of those homes are put available on the market instantly it will do little to alleviate the gathered issues the nation at present faces.
“As well as, a property being vacant for 12 months can imply virtually nothing as this may be for a number of causes as conceded by SEHP.”
The best variety of houses empty for greater than a yr was in Highland which had 3,334, Edinburgh was subsequent with 2,751, and Aberdeen had 2,615.
On the different finish of the size East Renfrewshire solely had 62 vacant houses for six months and isn’t listed on the official statistics for longer than a yr, presumably indicating there have been none for the total yr.
Clackmannanshire had 102 and East Dunbartonshire 220 vacant for greater than 12 months.
