Hansard

We can all hope that all the empty properties will be brought back into use.

Developers and property owners are there to use those properties if we can bring incentives to make all the empty properties go. In Kirkcaldy, we have a number of properties that have been vacant for 10 to 15 years and there has been no incentive for the developers or the property owners to bring properties back into use on our high street.

Scotland is in urgent need of more housing. At the same time 25,000 houses in Scotland are empty long term. There are undoubtedly many different reasons for those vacancies. Nevertheless, we need to bring those homes back to the market to help alleviate the shortage in housing.

At a time when the UK Government is cutting Scotland’s budget year by year, subsidising vacant commercial properties by more than £150 million a year does not seem like a responsible use of taxpayers’ money. Owners do not need to be scared though, as—despite the limited resources—empty property relief here will still be more advantageous than in England and Wales.

The Government needs to be able to make regulations to alter the non-domestic rates regime by varying the rates of relief available for certain empty commercial properties; to alter the level of council tax relief available; and, similarly, to alter the level of council tax payable on long-term empty homes.

At the moment, all empty non-domestic properties are entitled to 100 per cent rates relief for the first three months followed by a 50 per cent discount on the rates until the property is occupied for up to six weeks. The bill proposes reducing the rates relief for all other non-domestic properties to 10 per cent after three months. Exemptions for listed and industrial properties or properties with lower value will remain.

Subsidising around 19,000 properties with more than £150 million a year in empty property rates does not seem like a fair sharing of the burden and it is the biggest type of business relief in Scotland—more than the small business bonus scheme that assists businesses to actively contribute to our society and to our economy.

Reducing the relief for around 6,500 properties currently receiving a 50 per cent relief to 10 per cent will reduce the cost to the public by an estimated £18 million per year. To tackle the huge number of long-term empty homes in Scotland, the Scottish Government needs to be able to make regulations to alter council tax discounts if a property remains empty. Such regulations still give an exemption for the first six months and then only continue for another year if the owners are actively trying to sell their home, followed by the ability for local authorities to reduce discounts to 0 per cent. Local authorities would set those rates, decide what constitutes “actively trying to sell” and decide whether additional exemption periods would be appropriate.

With the Scottish empty homes partnership—run by Shelter Scotland—which supports local authorities, private owners and others, and with a consultation on council tax changes to long-term unoccupied properties that runs until 5 October, the Scottish Government is already working actively to reduce the number of empty homes. Those councils that choose to increase council tax for empty homes will also offer advice and support.

Proposed measures in the consultation on new council tax regulations will allow councils to impose an increase of up to 100 per cent of the relevant council tax for homes that have been empty for at least a year; to offer 10 to 50 per cent discounts for unfurnished properties that have been empty for between half a year and a year, rather than a 50 per cent discount; to apply different rates of discount or increase council tax in different parts of their area; and to increase rates depending on the time for which a home has been empty. Those measures will be beneficial in generating much-needed additional revenue for councils while simultaneously reducing the number of empty homes in Scotland.

The benefits of the bill are self-evident. The empty property rates reform will bring up to 5,500 properties back into use and, with that, kick-start the revitalisation of town centres. That is essential to the “Achieving a Sustainable Future” strategy, because strong and vibrant town centres and business districts are crucial to the economic and social fabric of Scotland. The change to council tax relief for long-term empty homes has potential to drastically reduce their number and provide much-needed homes.

The Government is aware of the necessity to take other factors into consideration, and integral parts of the bill allow for different circumstances. The bill will encourage owners of both domestic and commercial property because, in the long term, it will be more advantageous—financially and for the good of the community—to maximise potential by ensuring that all properties are used appropriately. The Government will continue to listen to the concerns of stakeholders from the private sector. It will give them the opportunity to engage in the process before regulations are introduced, and it invites all stakeholders and members of the Parliament to contribute.

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