Forty empty homes have been brought back into use across West Dunbartonshire, the local authority has announced.

Of those properties, 17 are in Dumbarton, 15 in Clydebank and eight in Alexandria.

The homes, which will help to address the local housing shortage, were either upgraded and rented to social tenants, or sold and occupied by new owners.

The new Empty Homes Strategy will continue to build on this work by offering support, assistance and advice to owners, as well as incentives such as access to funding to allow them to sell or rent homes which have been empty for six months or more. The work will not only help address the shortage of homes available for rent in the area, but will also lead to an increase in Council Tax revenue.

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Interest-free loans of up to £15,000 are being offered to help owners with renovation costs. In order to qualify for this, owners must agree to let the property as affordable housing for the next five years, while VAT incentives and discounts from builder's merchants are also available through the Council's dedicated Empty Homes Officer.

Furthermore, the local authority has also set up a 'matchmaker' scheme which introduces sellers with prospective buyers.

Councillor David McBride, Convener of Housing, said: "These 40 homes are not only now attracting income in the form of Council tax but will also make a small inroad towards meeting housing need.

"Empty homes are wasted assets in our communities and we want to encourage the people who own empty properties to bring them back into use."

In April 2014, West Dunbartonshire Council introduced a 200% Council tax rate for empty homes in a bid to encourage owners to bring their properties back into use and increase the supply of housing to rent and buy in the area.

(JP/IT)