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Long Term Empty Homes - Statistics

Where are Scotland's Long Term Empty Homes?

The Scottish Government publish annual statistics showing the total number of empty homes (defined as ‘properties which have been empty for more than 6 months and are liable for council tax’) and long term empty homes (homes which have been empty for more than 12 months) in each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland.

Statistics showing the total number of dwellings in Scotland are published annually by National Records of Scotland.

The maps below draw on both of these sources to show the distribution of homes and empty homes across Scotland in 2024.

Number of empty homes in Scotland by local authority

Untitled design
Local Authority% of Scotland's Homes% of Scotland's Empty HomesTotal HomesTotal Empty Homes
Aberdeen City Local Authority4.57%13.31%124,2695,793
Aberdeenshire Local Authority4.50%6.72%122,5242,926
Angus Local Authority2.14%2.99%58,2861,301
Argyll & Bute Local Authority1.81%4.34%49,1441,888
City of Edinburgh Local Authority2.80%4.06%76,2751,767
Clackmannanshire Local Authority0.93%0.37%25,277162
Dumfries & Galloway Local Authority2.80%4.06%76,2751,767
Dundee City Local Authority2.80%2.33%76,3061,014
East Ayrshire Local Authority2.20%1.18%59,737514
East Dunbartonshire Local Authority1.77%0.60%48,165260
East Lothian Local Authority1.92%1.39%52,327607
East Renfrewshire Local Authority1.50%0.14%40,84962
Falkirk Local Authority2.82%1.25%76,689545
Fife Local Authority6.72%6.01%182,7752,617
Glasgow City Local Authority11.92%5.74%324,4312,501
Highland Local Authority4.54%8.59%123,5683,740
Inverclyde Local Authority1.47%1.37%39,913595
Midlothian Local Authority1.62%0.89%44,052386
Moray Local Authority1.73%1.61%47,060700
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles) Local Authority0.55%1.66%15,097722
North Ayrshire Local Authority2.58%2.02%70,223878
North Lanarkshire Local Authority5.90%6.05%160,5602,634
Orkney Islands Local Authority0.43%0.79%11,719344
Perth & Kinross Local Authority2.80%3.46%76,1361,508
Renfrewshire Local Authority3.35%1.83%91,192797
Scottish Borders Local Authority2.20%3.55%59,9741,545
Shetland Islands Local Authority0.43%1.09%11,629476
South Ayrshire Local Authority2.08%1.94%56,697846
South Lanarkshire Local Authority5.83%4.12%158,5941,795
Stirling Local Authority1.58%1.32%42,990576
West Dunbartonshire Local Authority1.69%0.73%46,068319
West Lothian3.12%1.44%84,929627

Percentage of Scotland's long term empty homes in each local authority

Untitled design (2)
Local Authority% of Scotland's Homes% of Scotland's 12 Months+ LTE HomesTotal HomesTotal 12 Months+ LTE Homes
Aberdeen City Local Authority4.57%8.88%124,2692,806
Aberdeenshire Local Authority4.50%7.02%122,5242,218
Angus Local Authority2.14%3.45%58.2861,091
Argyll & Bute Local Authority1.81%3.91%49,1441,236
City of Edinburgh Local Authority9.69%8.05%263,6702,535
Clackmannanshire Local Authority0.93%0.32%25,277100
Dumfries & Galloway Local Authority2.80%4.33%76,2751,368
Dundee City Local Authority2.80%1.76%76,306557
East Ayrshire Local Authority2.20%1.10%59,737349
East Dunbartonshire Local Authority1.77%0.60%48,165189
East Lothian Local Authority1.92%1.33%52,327421
Falkirk Local Authority2.82%1.18%76,689373
Fife Local Authority6.72%6.63%182,7752,095
Glasgow City Local Authority11.92%4.83%324,4311,526
Highland Local Authority4.54%11.58%123,5683,660
Inverclyde Local Authority1.47%1.48%39,913468
Midlothian Local Authority1.62%1.05%44,052332
Moray Local Authority1.73%1.91%47,060603
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles) Local Authority0.55%2.08%15,097658
North Ayrshire Local Authority2.58%1.87%70,223590
North Lanarkshire Local Authority5.90%6.71%160,5602,121
Orkney Islands Local Authority0.43%0.73%11,719230
Perth & Kinross Local Authority2.80%2.96%76,136934
Renfrewshire Local Authority3.35%1.65%91,192521
Scottish Borders Local Authority2.20%3.42%59,9741,080
Shetland Islands Local Authority0.43%1.38%11,629436
South Ayrshire Local Authority2.08%1.03%56,697326
South Lanarkshire Local Authority5.83%5.32%158,5941,680
Stirling Local Authority1.58%1.49%42,990470
West Dunbartonshire Local Authority1.69%0.82%46,068260
West Lothian3.12%1.11%84,929352

*East Renfrewshire is excluded from this table as number of LTE homes empty for 12+ months was not published in the figures reported by Scottish Government.

Sources:

Housing statistics: Empty properties and second homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 

Small Area Statistics on Households and Dwellings | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)