I'm looking to buy an empty home...
How we can help
We do not have a list of empty homes available to purchase but, if you are considering investing in an empty home, there are many ways that you can find opportunities. Below, we’ll also provide information on some important considerations when investing in an empty home, such as VAT reductions and council tax discounts. If you’re investing to become a landlord, we’ll also tell you about some low stress and socially conscious ways to let your property.
The Open Market
There is no secret to investing in empty homes, and good opportunities can be found by simply looking on the open market. Use any popular property website and apply these filters to narrow down your search to those likely to be typical of an empty home: low price; no new homes, park homes, retirement homes or land; no buying schemes. Set up alerts for these criteria so you can respond quickly when a suitable property becomes available.
Auctions
Auctions have many empty home opportunities and can be a great way to find a refurbishment project or property. Auction House Scotland have some useful information on their website regarding all that’s involved in purchasing a property at auction - General frequently asked questions | Auction House
Other auction houses include:
• Future Property Auctions
• Property Auctions Scotland
• Prime Property Auctions
The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership does not specifically endorse any auction houses, so make sure you do your own research.
Matchmaker Schemes
Some local authorities in Scotland participate in a Matchmaker Scheme to help connect owners looking to sell their empty home with people who want to buy them. It is a free service and local empty homes officers will do their best to match buyers with properties that meet their criteria.
You can register for the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross schemes via these links:-
Aberdeen City Council matchmake to sell and matchmake to rent schemes
Aberdeenshire Council matchmaker scheme
Perth and Kinross Council Matchmaker
Or click here to register for the other participating authorities (listed below) via our referral form:
Angus, Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire
Other ways of finding empty home opportunities
Land Registers
Although there isn’t a publicly available list of empty homes, if you spot a particular empty home that you’re interested in, you can begin by obtaining a copy of the title sheet from the Registers of Scotland for a small fee. This should show the details of the owner, but occasionally tand only give the empty property address. If there have been no transactions associated with the property in a long time it may still be on the older Register of Sasines. The ROS’ fee is slightly higher. Once you have the owners' details, you can contact them directly and ask them if they would be interested in selling.
Empty Homes Officers
You can also report an empty home to us or to your local Empty Homes Officer (EHO), if your LA has one. A list of EHO’s and their contact details can be found here. The EHO will have other means not available to the public to trace the owner and can inform them that there is an interested party. But remember, this can take time, and the owner may not be open to selling.
Land Attic
Land Attic is an online platform enabling investors to seek opportunities in the property market, particularly focused on finding empty homes and development-ready land. The platform offers a database of off-market and underutilized properties providing investors with property information and real-time updates: Empty Properties, Derelict Buildings and Development Opportunities - Land Attic
Benefits of investing in empty homes
VAT Discounts
If you are bringing a home that has been empty for between two and ten years back into use, then you may be eligible to pay a reduced rate of VAT (currently 5%) on renovation work, goods and materials. The 5% rate is applied by the contractor at point of purchase, and they will need proof of the properties empty period to do so. You can obtain this proof by contacting your areas Empty Homes Officer, their details can be found here. If your area doesn’t have an Empty Homes Officer, contact us. For more details, please see our 2 Years VAT guide or visit the relevant HMRC page - VAT notice 708.
Homes that have been empty for over 10 years that are going to be brought back into use for residential purposes by yourself, your family or your relatives (either as a family home or holiday property) may be eligible for zero rated VAT. This would apply to building materials you have purchased as well as supplies bought by, and work carried out by, a contractor during renovation. You will need to pay the applicable rate of VAT and then claim in back from HMRC on completion of work. Please note, properties bought by businesses will not qualify for zero rated VAT under this scheme. For more details, please see our 10 Years VAT guide or visit the relevant HMRC page - VAT notice 708.
Merchant discounts
Some companies offer discounted services or other offers to owners of empty homes. A list of these merchants can be found here:
Merchant Discounts | Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
Please be aware, we are in the process of reviewing all available discounts so some information may be out of date. If you see a company listed that you would be interested in accessing a discount from, contact us.
Local Authority Grants and Loans
A small number of local authorities offer grant and/or loan funding for the renovation and restoration of empty homes. If you want to find out for your project, contact your Empty Homes Officer (EHO) directly, a list of EHO contact details can be found here. If your local authority doesn’t have an EHO, contact us.
Positive environmental and Social Impact
Bringing an empty home back to a liveable state uses between 50% and 75% less embodied carbon than building a new home. It takes approximately five decades for a well-insulated new home to offset the embodied carbon involved in the building process, so bringing an empty home back into use is an environmentally conscious choice.
Bringing empty homes back into use also has a p and communities, for example through investment in trades, re-population, and school participation. Each home brought back into use is estimated to bring in £9000 to the local economy each year.
Things to consider when investing in empty homes
Council Tax
If you buy an empty home:
For the first 6 months – if you can produce evidence to establish that it is undergoing repairs or renovations that contribute to the improvement of the property; you are entitled to a discount of between 10-50% on your council tax bill. The discount amount is set individually by each local authority. If the property requires major work to render it habitable, or is undergoing structural alternation, the discount will bea default 50%.
After 6 months - local authorities may extend the discount at their discretion where they are satisfied that the work is still ongoing. If they do not extend the discount, the property may become liable for the council tax premium. This allows the council to charge double council tax if the property has been empty for more than a year. As the year runs from the date the property originally became empty (not the date you purchased it), this could mean your council tax bill goes from the discounted rate to twice the normal rate.
Example: Person A buys a property which has already been empty for 6 months. They provide evidence to their local authority that renovation work is being undertaken and a 50% council tax discount, is applied for the first 6 months of their ownership. Their bill drops to £70 per month. After 6 months they have completed the renovation work, but the property will remain empty. As it has now been 1 year since the property became empty, the local authority decides to apply the council tax levy, which is an additional 100% on top of the standard rate of £140. Therefore, person A’s council tax has gone from £70 to £280 per month, an increase of 300%.
Costs
Renovating an empty home may require more work than the average home, especially if it has been empty for a long time. Before purchasing an empty home, make sure you have fully investigated and have a good estimate of the costs of work that will be needed to make it liveable again. Homes For Good, a social enterprise property management company that you can learn more about below, have developed a simple but effective tool that helps you record and keep track of these costs, as well as highlight key areas for consideration: Homes For Good Work Tracker.xlsx
Local Market
A home might be empty for a variety of reasons, including market conditions. Consider the demand for housing in the area before purchasing a home, this will prevent you from ending up with a house you can’t let or sell after investing your time and money.
Other Considerations
Empty properties can incur higher insurance costs and are also at higher risk of pests, vandalism and attracting antisocial behaviour. Bringing a home back into use removes these risks and the stress that it creates for the community it’s in.
PSL Schemes/Social Letting
If you’re considering investing to become a landlord, but are concerned about the time commitment of managing a property, consider these options:
Private sector leasing schemes via your local authority or housing association (HA). A PSL operates by the local authority or HA leasing your property from you for a contracted period, most commonly 1 year, 3 years or 5 years. During this period, they fully manage the property while providing you a guaranteed monthly income whether the property is occupied or not. The property would be added to their housing stock and then rented it out to a tenant in need. During a period of crisis in housing in Scotland, this would directly contribute to reducing homelessness. To learn more about the housing emergency, visit Shelter Scotland - Housing Emergency.
Contact your Empty Homes Officer (EHO) to find if they run a PSL scheme - EHO contacts.
Homes For Good are a social enterprise property management company operating primarily in Glasgow, Ayrshire and the South of Scotland to provide affordable, high-quality homes for a wide range of tenants, especially those with high housing needs.
They offer a socially conscious option for renting out property and work with empty homeowners who may be looking to become landlords for the first time, as well as established landlords. If you would like to learn more about renting out your property through Homes for Good, visit their website here: We Are Homes For Good - Homes for Good
Contact Us
Contact us today for more information on how empty homes can be great investment opportunities, and how we can help you realise their potential.
Getting in touch: What happens?
- When you get in touch, we'll ask for some information about you and the empty property. We'll listen to your problem and ask what you would like to happen.
- We might be able to give you information straight away, or we might need to do some research and get back to you. We'll always try to get back to you within three working day.
- Many councils have local, dedicated Empty Homes Officers. Where possible, we will put you in touch with them for local assistance. If there isn't an Empty Homes Officer in your area, we'll work with you directly.