Empty and second homes are not the answer to housing shortages according to the largest lettings agency in Scotland.

The country’s housing secretary, Mairi McAllan, says she is going to act to prevent the current “unacceptable” levels of empty homes in Scotland but the agency – DJ Alexander – says this will not come close to resolving the current housing emergency.

The Scottish Government’s Scottish Empty Homes Partnership seeks to identify empty homes and encourage owners to bring these properties onto the market. There are already empty homes officers across many Scottish councils, and the organisation has brought just under 11,000 homes to the market in the 15 years since it was established.

Figures published by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) stated that in 2023/24 there were 46,217 homes empty for six months in Scotland, but this figure falls to 28,280 for homes that have been vacant for more than a year. The greatest number of homes empty for more than a year was in Highland which had 3,334, Edinburgh was next with 2,751, and Aberdeen had 2,615.

At the other end of the scale East Renfrewshire only had sixty-two vacant homes for six months and is not listed on the official statistics for longer than a year presumably indicating there were none for the full year. Clackmannanshire had 102 and East Dunbartonshire 220 vacant for more than 12 months.

In addition, the latest Scottish Government figures show that there are now just 21,606 second homes in Scotland representing a 10% fall year on year to 2024 and the largest fall in numbers in a decade. Second homes account for just 1% of all housing in Scotland.

David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander, comments: “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. A property that is an eyesore in a village, town or city can only be improved by renovation.

“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. In addition, a property being vacant for 12 months can mean almost nothing as this can be for multiple reasons as conceded by SEHP.”

He continues: “Estates can take a long time to be satisfied so many of these empty homes may not be in use for perfectly legitimate reasons. There could many other reasons these properties are empty. People may be working abroad, they may be in hospital, in a care home, travelling, retired, and living elsewhere with relatives or a whole host of reasons which result in a property being left empty for a prolonged period of time.”

“The concern is whether by focusing on empty and second homes this is a distraction from the larger issue of the need to build more houses in the social and private sectors.”

And he concludes: “While the aims may be laudable, this is not the solution to the current housing emergency. The answer is to increase the volume of new home building which would resolve our current housing issues long before reducing the number of empty and second homes and holiday lets would make a small dent in the overall shortages. 

“These are sticking plaster solutions to a gaping wound problem. The crucial factor in this is that reducing the number of empty and second homes, and holiday lets gives the appearance of doing something without costing very much to implement. These are policies which look as if they are the answer to housing needs, but the reality is that only by resolving our current low housebuilding levels will we start to see a reduction in the high number of people seeking to buy or rent a home in the future.”