Annual Impact Report 2024

MEETING OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES – 1

Support the Scottish Government in the implementation of its Housing to 2040 strategy and commitment to empty homes aspects of a National Acquisition Plan

This objective mirrors the overall aim of phase 2 of the partnership and underpins much of the work being taken forward under our second and third strategic objective. This is demonstrated by the following quotes from the independent audit of empty homes work carried out by Indigo House on behalf of the Scottish Government published last year.

‘SEHP is providing a crucial role in data analysis and strategic planning advisory work, which most EHOs do not have the time for as they are focused on critical frontline work with homeowners. Increasingly, SEHP is also providing support to wider organisations to focus on empty homes, and again it is clear SEHP provides an important enabling role beyond the local authority support role.’

‘Bringing empty homes back into use can form part of strategies to meet housing need, particularly in the context that new-build housing alone cannot be carried out at the pace and scale required to meet all housing requirements. Bringing empty homes back into use can be 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.’

Our work on data analysis is continuing to improve the quantity and quality of data available on distribution of empty homes across and within local authorities in Scotland. We now publish annual data showing the proportion of Scotland’s homes and long term empty homes in each local authority and, using Small Area data published by National Records of Scotland, have produced a set of reports showing how empty homes are distributed within the local authorities themselves.

Additionally, we are part of the Scottish Government short-term working group set up to review the range of data collected on second homes, empty homes and long term empty homes. Our invitation to be involved in this work followed on from analysis we carried out on annual figures for homes empty for six months or longer from a number of local authorities, that revealed some discrepancies in what was being included in the totals. Further work is now being taken forward to address this.

Figures in this year’s survey demonstrate how our support is helping local authorities to take forward work to bring empty homes back to use to meet the commitments in Housing to 2040, with 18 local authorities reporting that they now have a buy back or acquisition programme, and 11 local authorities developing strategic empty homes strategies or frameworks.

We hope that in the coming year as local authorities look to make fuller use of the National Acquisition Programme that they will recognise the essential role that EHOs can play in this. The contact between an EHO and an owner is the first stage of establishing the barriers to bringing homes back to use and exploring options such as buy backs that they may otherwise not be aware of. Without their involvement the process of identifying homes that could form part of the programme, and getting agreement from the owners to do this, becomes exponentially harder.