Hansard

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I also thank those members who supported the motion so that the debate could take place.

The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, which was created in 2010 and is funded by the Scottish Government and hosted by Shelter Scotland, exists to encourage Scotland’s approximately 46,000 privately owned long-term empty homes back into use as affordable homes. Since 2010, the partnership has facilitated collaborative work between Shelter Scotland, local authorities and the Scottish Government to tackle the blight of long-term empty homes in our towns and cities and in rural Scotland.

The Indigo House audit report for the Scottish Government, “Bringing empty homes back into use: an audit of privately owned empty homes in Scotland”, found that refurbished empty homes can be brought back into use at a

“lower cost than new build and can provide positive economic and social impacts. In rural areas empty homes strategies can help revive and sustain fragile communities, particularly where second homes contribute to housing pressure, and in urban areas, city and town centre regeneration can help reverse area decline.”

To date, the partnership has seen 10,889 homes brought back into use, mainly as affordable housing, and 2023-24 saw the highest annual number of properties brought back into use, at 1,875.

The empty homes audit report found that the most effective way of bringing properties back into use is through the employment of an empty homes officer to “prioritise empty homes action”. It also found that an authority’s empty homes officer is a

“critical resource in supporting owners with information and advice”

and influencing them to bring homes back into use.

However, of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, only 28 have at least one empty homes officer or the equivalent. The remaining four councils have no one in that position, although they have more than 2,200 long-term empty homes.

Those authorities should reconsider, particularly in the light of the auditor’s value-for-money assessment, which found that, during the period under review, empty homes were brought back into use for the equivalent of £2,260 per home. The Scottish Government provided 38 per cent of the funding to councils, while other parties provided the balance.

Across Scotland, housing emergencies have been declared in a number of council areas, including Argyll and Bute, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway and Aberdeen. The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership’s annual report for 2023-24 highlighted that those councils had more than 12,000 homes lying empty for more than a year.

Why are so many private homes lying empty? Many owners lack the resources to afford the cost of repairs, especially if they have inherited a property. They might consider that, because of local housing market conditions, making that investment might not be financially prudent, or they might have problems finding the tradesmen and services required to complete renovations.

Owners might have personal reasons for not wanting to sell, through emotional attachment to a family home, long-term hospitalisation, imprisonment or mental health issues. There might be difficulty in locating or engaging with owners of derelict or empty properties, especially when the owner is not resident in Scotland.

The audit report found that local empty homes officers, or EHOs, are a

“critical resource in bringing empty homes back into use,”

and that

“there is a direct correlation between the amount of EHO resource and the amount of empty homes brought back into use.”

It continued:

“A successful EHO acts as a trusted adviser, co-ordinator and sign posts owners to other interventions. Their success in getting empty homes back into use is mainly due to the provision of information, advice and influencing empty home owners.”

The report also said:

“it is clear that most EHO resources are stretched, and if more of this resource was available and targeted at the areas with the highest incidence of empty homes, then more could be achieved.”

As a representative of the capital, I should highlight the fact that there are 7,200 privately owned empty properties in Edinburgh; there are a further 1,700 second homes; and there are around 8,400 properties being used for short-term lets to tourists. At the same time, we have 5,000 families living in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government has provided 131,000 social and affordable homes since 2007—the highest number per head of population in the United Kingdom—with a further 110,000 affordable homes to be built by 2032. However, the quickest and most cost-effective way of putting a permanent roof over those families’ heads is by bringing more properties back into use, which is affordable.

One way to assist that would be for the Labour Government to reduce VAT on the costs of property repairs and maintenance. Currently, there is 20 per cent VAT on repairs and maintenance work on a property, although if renovation or alteration work is being done on empty premises, that is reduced to 5 per cent, but only if the property has not been lived in for at least two years immediately preceding the start of the work. Why should property lie empty and further deteriorate before work can begin, possibly at a higher cost because it needs more work, given that it has lain empty for two years? A reduction to 5 per cent VAT for such work on all empty homes by the Labour Government would help financially and bring those homes back into use sooner. That step would be particularly helpful now, as inflation in construction materials has risen by approximately 15 per cent to 20 per cent since 2020 and is forecast to increase by a further 15 per cent in the next five years.

The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership has successfully brought almost 11,000 homes back into use, with a further 1,000 expected this year.

I welcome the fact that a number of councils are expanding their empty homes service, with the appointment of additional officers funded by the council tax surcharge on long-term empty and second homes. I encourage those few councils that do not have an empty homes officer in place to appoint one as a matter of urgency.

I would encourage owners of empty homes—regardless of the reason for those homes being empty—to arrange to meet their local officer and discuss how they can provide a family home in their area. The list of contact email addresses and telephone numbers can be found on the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership website.