A nationwide online portal has been launched to connect owners of empty homes with prospective buyers and developers, aiming to bring more properties back into use across Scotland.

The service expands on local "matchmaker schemes" by enabling owners to list details of their empty properties so first-time buyers, families, developers and local authorities can express interest in purchasing.

Hosted by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, the portal forms part of a £2 million investment this year to recruit additional empty homes officers and support initiatives that speed up returning vacant properties to use.

Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: "If you have an empty home to sell, this new portal is for you.

"Making best use of existing housing stock is central to tackling the housing emergency. Bringing owners and buyers together is a great way of adding to the overall housing supply, be that for affordable housing or use on the private market and it complements our ambitious house building programme.

"We are already making progress in turning around empty properties. Over the past 15 years we have helped return almost 13,000 privately owned homes to use and last year we saw 2,066 homes brought back in a single year, the highest in a year to date.

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"I would encourage anyone who has a home lying empty to use this new scheme and seek advice from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and their local council to bring their home back into use."

Tahmina Nizam, Scottish Empty Homes Partnership National Manager, said: "Every home matters in our collective fight against the housing emergency, so we're delighted to launch this brand-new matchmaker scheme.

"We know selling an empty home can be a daunting task; the matchmaker scheme is designed to make that process easier and to help get more homes back into productive use.

"We want anyone who owns an empty home to know that support is available, either from the network of dedicated local empty homes officers working in local authorities across the country or directly from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.

"No home was built to sit empty and it's vital that we make the best possible use of the assets we already have. Every individual empty property could provide a safe and secure place for someone to call home, but collectively Scotland's empty homes can make a huge contribution to ending the housing emergency."

Listings on the portal are free. Local schemes currently operate in Aberdeenshire, the Borders, Fife, East Lothian, Argyll and Bute, Orkney and South Ayrshire; most will be wound down in favour of the new national platform, while Aberdeen City will continue its local scheme. More information: emptyhomespartnership.scot/matchmaker/

Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, a home report is legally required for any property actively marketed for sale. Owners may list on the portal without a home report but must not enter negotiations with prospective buyers until one is obtained. Where an estate agent is marketing a property, the asking price shown by the agent must match the price on the portal.