Empty and second homes are not the answer to Scotland’s chronic housing shortage, warns David Alexander (pictured), Chief Executive of DJ Alexander.

It comes after Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan announced she was acting to prevent “unacceptable” levels of empty homes by funding more empty homes officers to bring privately-owned houses back into use.

Alexander argues that while the initiative is worthy, it will not come close to resolving the current housing emergency declared across multiple Scottish councils, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Argyll and Bute.

Figures from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership show 28,280 homes have been vacant for more than a year, while the organisation has brought just under 11,000 homes to market in its 15-year existence.

Just a distraction

Alexander says the Government’s emphasis on both empty properties and second homes just distracts from the real issues. He says: “There is little doubt that regenerating and reviving homes which have been empty for a substantial period of time can be beneficial for an area.

“The concern is that by conflating the issue of the current housing shortage in Scotland with almost just over 28,000 homes empty for a year misses the point that even if all of these houses are put on the market immediately, this will do little to alleviate the accumulated problems the country currently faces.”

He points out that properties can be vacant for legitimate reasons, including estate settlements, owners working abroad, hospital stays, care home moves, or family relocations.

The answer is to increase the volume of new home building which would resolve our housing issues long before reducing the number of empty and second homes would.”

The focus on second homes is equally misplaced, Alexander argues, with Government figures showing there are just 21,606 second homes in Scotland (a 10% year-on-year fall), which is just 1% of Scotland’s housing.

“Even combining empty homes and second homes, we’re talking about fewer than 50,000 properties – a fraction of what’s needed to address Scotland’s housing crisis,” he says.

Alexander concludes that the policies amount to a ‘sticking plaster solutions to a gaping wound problem’ and warns they give ‘the appearance of doing something without costing very much to implement.’

“The answer is to increase the volume of new home building, which would resolve our housing issues long before reducing the number of empty and second homes would make a small dent in the overall shortages.”