Housing and empty property rates reform aim to regenerate Scotland's communities, Local Government Derek Mackay said ahead of a stage one debate on the Unoccupied Properties Bill.

The Bill will allow councils to remove existing discounts and increase council tax on certain long-term empty homes, which often fall into disrepair and can become a focus for antisocial behaviour such as vandalism or fly tipping.

There are 25,000 long-term empty homes across Scotland and these new powers could assist councils to work with home owners to provide homes for people who need them.

The reforms also include measures to incentivise owners of vacant business premises to bring up to 5,500 properties back into commercial use.

Under the current system of Empty Property Relief the Scottish Government would have provided approximately £757m of business rates subsidies, over the period 2010-15, to owners of business premises who have failed to find occupants. The new reforms will reduce this subsidy by £36m and aims to encourage maximum occupancy of Scotland’s town centres, linking to the Regeneration and Town Centre Strategies.

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Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Mackay said: "The Unoccupied Properties Bill is an important step in regenerating and revitalising communities across Scotland.

"At a time where there are over 140,000 families and individuals on social housing waiting lists and 25,000 long-term empty properties across Scotland, these reforms could play a significant role in providing homes for people who need them.

"The Bill will assist councils to remove discounts and increase council tax on certain empty homes and should be a strong incentive to owners to sell or let the property to someone who needs it.

"The Scottish Government is focused on retaining Scotland’s reputation as the most supportive environment for business in the UK and the review of business rates reflects the current economic challenges and opportunities. The total relief package offered by Scottish Government now exceeds £0.5 billion per year.

"The current system of empty property relief is not working for our communities and we recognise there is a need to incentivise owners of business premises to find occupants. We are working with stakeholders across the business community and we plan to introduce new incentives which will potentially bring up to 5,500 vacant business properties back into use."

(CD)