To ask the Scottish Executive how many empty homes it estimates there are that would be capable of being brought back into use and how many homes were brought back into use in each local authority area in each of the last five years, showing year-on-year percentage changes.
The information requested is not held centrally.
Responsibility for tackling the issue of empty homes rests with local authorities as part of their Local Housing Strategies. It is an expectation set out in the guidance that, as part of a wider strategic approach to address housing need, alongside neighbourhood renewal and community planning initiatives, their strategy should consider whether the existing public and private housing stock is being managed to best effect and if there are management solutions based on that stock to existing or emerging housing problems.
An analysis of data from the Post Census Vacant Survey is available through the Publications and Data – Data Library section on the Scottish Executive Housing Statistics website:
www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref.
Table 1 provides background information on the number of vacant housing authority dwellings at 31 March for each of the last five years, by reason for the vacancy. It cannot be used to determine how many vacant dwellings could be brought into use. Table 2 gives year-on-year percentage changes.
Table 1: Housing Authority Dwellings Vacant at 31 March, Numbers
Reason for Vacancy | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
(a) Used as temporary accommodation for homeless | 326 | 348 | 395 | 410 | 296 |
(b) To be demolished or sold with vacant possession within two years | 5,356 | 7,249 | 6,954 | 7,279 | 4,809 |
(c) Part of modernisation or major repair programme | 1,172 | 1,027 | 1,168 | 1,132 | 676 |
(d) In identified low demand area | 4,293 | 4,077 | 4,054 | 3,836 | 2,751 |
(e) Other | 10,373 | 9,376 | 8,175 | 8,479 | 5,972 |
Total vacant dwellings | 21,520 | 22,077 | 20,746 | 21,136 | 14,504 |
Table 2: Housing Authority Dwellings Vacant at 31 March, Year-on-Year Percentage Changes
Reason for vacancy | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
(a) Used as temporary accommodation for homeless | n/a | 7 | 14 | 4 | -28 |
(b) To be demolished or sold with vacant possession within two years | n/a | 35 | -4 | 5 | -34 |
(c) Part of modernisation or major repair programme | n/a | -12 | 14 | -3 | -40 |
(d) In identified low demand area | n/a | -5 | -1 | -5 | -28 |
(e) Other | n/a | -10 | -13 | 4 | -30 |
Total vacant dwellings | n/a | 3 | -6 | 2 | -31 |
Notes:
1. Figures are for local authority and Scottish Homes stock.
2. Figures contain some estimates due to outstanding/incomplete returns.
3. Due to housing stock transfers, figures for local authority dwellings in Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders are not included in 2004. This will account for some of the decrease seen between 2003 and 2004.
4. If a dwelling falls into more than one category, it is allocated to the category that appears first in the table.
5. Dwellings are included in category (a) if they are used solely as temporary accommodation for the homeless.
6. There is no information to determine whether dwellings in category (b) could be made habitable.
7. Dwellings are included in category (c) if the modernisation or repair scheme is due to be implemented within two years.
8. Dwellings are included in category (d) if the authority has developed a strategy to deal with the low demand.
9. The table provides a snapshot of the situation as at 31 March each year. Dwellings may remain vacant for longer than one year, or become vacant intermittently over the five year period. Therefore, the rows cannot be summed to give a total number of vacant dwellings over the period.