Over 100,000 residential properties in Scotland are either laying empty or used as a secondary holiday home or commercial letting, according to a new report by the Scottish Greens.

The party's housing spokesperson, Andy Wightman MSP, said with the proportion of empty homes in Scotland has risen over the last decade, from 2.76% (65,198) in 2007 to 3.05% (79,246) in 2017.

Key features of Mr Wightman's report include;

• The five council areas with the greatest proportion of empty homes are rural (Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Borders and Argyll & Bute)

• The five council areas with the greatest number of empty homes are predominantly urban (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Aberdeenshire & Aberdeen City)

• The five neighbourhoods with the largest number of empty homes are in deprived areas (Toryglen and Carnwadric in Glasgow, Clydebank, Kildrum in North Lanarkshire and Port Glasgow in Inverclyde)

In addition, Freedom of Information requests to Scotland's 32 councils reveal that only two-thirds employ an empty homes officer to tackle the problem, and while the number of second homes is falling slightly (from 38,249 in 2012 to 25,713 in 2017), it is offset by the rapid rise in short-term letting, with almost 50% of properties in some areas labelled as Second Homes.


Mr Wrightman said: "People are crying out for affordable housing, yet we have a total of over 100,000 empty and under-used second homes across the country. It's incredulous that the proportion of empty homes is rising and astonishing that not all councils have empty homes officers to bring properties into use.

"The Scottish Government has long overlooked the issue of empty homes and there's a risk that its response will be too little too late. Second homes remain a blight in many communities and inflating house prices beyond the reach of local people."

To tackle the issue, the Scottish Greens have put forward a number of proposals to overhaul of housing laws;

• Standardise terminology so that empty homes data are consistent (Scottish Government says there are 37,000 empty homes; National Records states 79,000)

• Curb the tax loophole that allows owners of second homes to avoid paying council tax by listing their property as a business

• Allow councils to control the spread of second homes and short-term lets by making them subject to planning and a consent for change of use

• Give councils compulsory purchase powers to bring empty homes and vacant land into use

Mr Wightman said: "The Scottish Greens' proposed overhaul of legislation would deliver the fresh energy needed to tackle Scotland's housing crisis."

To view the Empty and Second Homes report, visit here.

(LM)