Scheme launched to help return more empty homes to active use
A new online portal has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again.
Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as “matchmaker schemes”, which allow owners of empty homes to upload details of their properties to a website through which anyone, such as first time buyers, families, developers or local authorities, can make purchasing enquiries.
The portal is hosted by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and has been developed as part of a £2 million investment this year to recruit additional empty homes officers and fund initiatives that will accelerate the pace and numbers of empty homes that are brought back into use.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “If you have an empty home to sell, this new portal is for you.
“Making best use of existing housing stock is central to tackling the housing emergency. Bringing owners and buyers together is a great way of adding to the overall housing supply, be that for affordable housing or use on the private market and it complements our ambitious house building programme.
“We are already making progress in turning around empty properties. Over the past 15 years we have helped return almost 13,000 privately owned homes to use and last year we saw 2,066 homes brought back in a single year, the highest in a year to date.
“I would encourage anyone who has a home lying empty to use this new scheme and seek advice from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and their local council to bring their home back into use.”
Tahmina Nizam, Scottish Empty Homes Partnership National Manager, said: “Every home matters in our collective fight against the housing emergency, so we’re delighted to launch this brand-new matchmaker scheme.
“We know selling an empty home can be a daunting task; the matchmaker scheme is designed to make that process easier and to help get more homes back into productive use.
“We want anyone who owns an empty home to know that support is available, either from the network of dedicated local empty homes officers working in local authorities across the country or directly from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.
“No home was built to sit empty and it’s vital that we make the best possible use of the assets we already have. Every individual empty property could provide a safe and secure place for someone to call home, but collectively Scotland’s empty homes can make a huge contribution to ending the housing emergency.”
New Scottish Government funding to prevent homelessness and expand emergency grants
Efforts to tackle homelessness, reduce poverty and support women who have experienced domestic abuse are being bolstered by an additional £1.6 million this year.This includes:
A further £1 million investment in Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) for local authorities to help people move from temporary accommodation into settled homes
£100,000 to expand an emergency fund that outreach workers can use to help rough sleepers or those at risk of becoming homeless
£500,000 to further bolster the £1 million Fund to Leave announced on 2 September. This supports women experiencing domestic abuse to buy essentials when leaving an abusive partner, recognising that domestic abuse remains a leading cause of women’s homelessness
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan announced the suite of measures ahead of a speech to Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference in Perth today.
Commenting before the event, Ms McAllan said: “Our approach to supporting people is rooted in compassion and is driven by the belief that everyone – regardless of circumstance – deserves a place to call home.
“These investments reflect that housing is about more than basic shelter – it’s about safety, dignity, and the chance to rebuild. And it follows on from the work set out in the Housing Bill to revolutionise homelessness prevention and improve standards in rented housing.
“When we get housing and anti-poverty measures right, we don’t just solve a problem, we build a fairer and healthier Scotland for generations.
“Today’s announcement, building on extensive work already carried out, show’s how seriously we take our duty to build a fairer Scotland.”
PLAN TO END CHLDREN LIVING IN UNSUITABLE ACCOMMODATION, SUPPORT VULNERABLE GROUPS AND BOOST INVESTMENT
Cabinet Secretary for Housing Màiri McAllan has published the Housing Emergency Action Plan to tackle the housing crisis.
The plan focuses on three key areas – ending children living in unsuitable accommodation, supporting the housing needs of vulnerable groups and supporting growth and investment in the housing sector.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the Housing Secretary set out a number of key commitments, including:
A new commitment to invest up to £4.9 billion over the next four years, delivering around 36,000 affordable homes by 2029-30 and providing a home for up to 24,000 children.
Doubling investment in acquisitions this year to £80 million, which will help take between 600-800 children out of temporary accommodation.
Implement Awaab’s Law from March 2026, starting with damp and mould, subject to parliamentary approval, to ensure landlords promptly address issues hazardous to tenants.
A new £1 million national ‘fund to leave’ to provide financial support for up to 1,200 women and their children to leave an abusive partner.
Unlocking land for housing in rural areas by working with the Scottish National Investment Bank, landowners and public bodies
A new Ministerial direction to planning authorities.
Ms McAllan said: “Tackling the housing emergency will be a cornerstone in our efforts to achieve the Scottish Government’s key priority of eradicating child poverty. I am determined this action plan will deliver positive and lasting change.
“At the heart of my mission is ensuring children are not spending time in unsuitable accommodation or long periods in temporary accommodation; that the housing needs of vulnerable communities are met and that we create the optimum conditions for confidence and investment in Scotland’s housing sector.
“Our efforts so far since declaring a housing emergency have seen 2,700 families with children into a permanent home, up to December 2024. Our action plan will see tens of thousands more families have a place they can call home.
“Since I took up the role of Cabinet Secretary I have listened to calls from the sector for multi-year funding to give housebuilders more long-term certainty.
“Today I have committed to investing up to £4.9 billion in affordable homes over the next four years. This long-term certainty and increase in funding will support delivery of around 36,000 affordable homes and provide up to 24,000 children with a warm, safe home.
“We cannot tackle this emergency alone though and I need everyone from across the private and public sector to pull together and deliver this plan to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to a safe, warm and affordable home.”
Crisis Scotland’s Head of Policy and Communications Maeve McGoldrick said: “We welcome today’s announcement. Homelessness is the most acute form of poverty, and we see the damage it does through our frontline services every day.
“Investment in new housing will help prevent more people being forced from their homes, while the expansion of Housing First will provide a vital route out of homelessness for people who have been let down by services for too long.
“We can’t allow more people to be trapped in the limbo of the homelessness system– we need to act now to help build a Scotland where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.”
Scottish Women’s Aid CEO Dr Marsha Scott said: “Scottish Women’s Aid warmly welcomes announcement of a roll-out of the original Fund to Leave pilots to the rest of Scotland.
“Every day we and our local Women’s Aid services see women and children struggling to get free of an abuser. The Fund to Leave offers a critical helping hand when women and children need it most.
‘Leaving’ is difficult and dangerous, and the Fund to Leave is such an important step to making leaving and staying free from an abuser a reality across Scotland.”
Right There works to prevent people becoming homeless and separated from their loved ones, and believes everyone deserves a safe place to call home.
Commenting on the plan, CEO, Janet Haugh said: “Scotland is in the midst of a national housing emergency which needs ambitious and robust action to reverse it.
“We are encouraged that today’s plan recognises the crisis our country is in, with over 53,000 people currently without a home, and over 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation.
“We welcome the focus on ending children’s time in unsuitable or temporary accommodation. Every child deserves a safe, stable place to call home – it is the foundation of wellbeing, learning and hope for the future.
“We know that a house alone is not enough. The right support around people – whether they are rebuilding after domestic abuse, facing poverty, or at risk of homelessness – is vital to turn housing into a home.
“We see every day the pressure on families and individuals waiting far too long in temporary accommodation. While progress is welcome, the reality is that thousands still need urgent solutions.
“We stand ready to play our part. Local organisations like Right There can be powerful delivery partners, bringing together housing, support and community. Sustainable investment and genuine collaboration will be critical.
“Housing is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about fairness, dignity, and giving people the chance to thrive. The Housing Emergency Action Plan will only succeed if it holds true to those values.”
Ensuring people receive help before reaching crisis
Further measures to prevent people experiencing the trauma of homelessness will be introduced as part of amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill currently places a stronger importance on preventing homelessness through ‘ask and act’ duties on social landlords and relevant bodies, such as Health Boards, Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service, to ask about a person’s housing situation as early as they can and act to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible.
Scottish Government amendments to the Bill, developed with help from homelessness charities including Crisis, will ensure people get the help they need. They will also require a range of services to do more to prevent homelessness and to co-operate, share information and will be specific on what is required of them to help people remain in their homes, supported by £4 million pilot programmes in 2025-26.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “We want Scotland to be a world leader in homelessness prevention. We already have the strongest homeless rights in the world, but we want to go even further. These changes to the Housing Bill will increase the likelihood that people will receive help before reaching the point of crisis.
“Making sure everyone has the right to a safe and stable home is essential to the Scottish Government’s priority of ending child poverty and the Bill will play a role in reaching that goal.
“Working closely with our partners including Crisis, we have developed a set of amendments that further strengthens rights and gives people the help they need by ensuring that preventing homelessness becomes a collective responsibility across society.
“These amendments will have a lasting, positive impact for many households, and I urge Parliament to back them when they come to a vote.”
North Edinburgh Parents Action Group held their 3rd meeting with senior housing staff at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre at the end of last month.
The meeting was well attended by local people affected by housing issues but unfortunately there were fewer senior staff in attendance than previous meetings which the group felt was disappointing.
The meeting focused on a number of key issues which have been raised by local people including :
overcrowding and a shortage of larger houses in North Edinburgh,
poor standards of repairs,
issues with Edindex,
lack of support to tenants allocated PSL (Private Sector Leasing) properties, and
inaccurate information contained in progress reports on individual cases.
Local people presented each of these issues to the Director of Housing and his staff and pointed out that most of these issues had already been brought to their attention at the previous two meetings and in their publication ‘SOS – North Edinburgh’s Housing Emergency’ which was published last May.
It was also pointed out that since then the group have raised other issues which are affecting tenants who have been housed in temporary accommodation and nothing has been done to address these issues.
Commitment from Director of Housing
The Director of Housing acknowledged people’s frustrations and reassured the meeting that his team were working on these issues and were developing new ways of working which he hoped would improve the service.
Furthermore, he agreed to take the following action in response to the latest information people had shared about their experiences :
To meet with the Chief Executive of PSL to highlight all the complaints people have raised and to clarify how the system works
To invite a senior member of the new build team to the next meeting to provide information on the numbers of houses available for social rent, particularly larger properties and new properties which can be adapted.
To provide a written response to all the issues raised in the group’s report
To organise regular drop-in sessions locally to enable tenants to access housing staff who are able to provide support and information on a variety of housing-related issues.
Enough is Enough
Although the group welcomed these commitments, there was also a feeling of disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress in tackling the area’s housing problems.
People also felt disheartened that after all these meetings senior housing managers were unable to provide answers to things they should really know about.
Susan Rowand, chairperson of the parents group, said: “We were shocked at the fact that people in this position didn’t seem up to speed or familiar with their own systems.
“We need to have confidence that those at the top understand what is going wrong and have a plan to put it right.”
No more false promises
The meeting was also attended by representatives from Low Income Families Together (LIFT) who reported that they were dealing with the same issues in Muirhouse on a daily basis.
Pauline Bowie, Manager of LIFT said: “As well as changes to the system, there needs to be a commitment by Council Officers, local Councils and MSPs to ensure that the changes are enforced. We don’t want any more false promises.
“Many of the properties people are stuck in are uninhabitable and would never make it onto the Edindex housing bidding service. These properties are offered as PSL to reduce the numbers of people in temporary accommodation and to reduce the level of support required by the CEC housing support services. This needs to change now.”
Lothian MSP Sarah Boyack has slammed the Scottish Government as new statistics have revealed just how stark the current housing crisis gripping the Lothians is.
The Private Rent Statistics Scotland report, published by the Scottish Government, reveal that rents in the Lothian have seen the highest above inflation increases in rent for two bed properties of any area in Scotland.
The situation is equally alarming for one bed properties, with Lothian rents increasing by 14.4% in 12 months, compared with only a 0.3% increase in Greater Glasgow.
This has left Lothian with the highest average monthly rent for one bed flats anywhere in Scotland.
The same is true for 2 beds with the average rent in Lothian being £1358, the highest in the country.
The average rent across Lothian has increased almost 100% from 2010, from £520 to £1013 over the period.
The crisis prompted Edinburgh Council to declare a housing emergency in November 2023 highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the capital.
East Lothian Council declared an affordable housing emergency on the 12th of November this year after it was revealed they were likely to lose over 1200 affordable houses over the next five years.
Commenting on these stats, Sarah Boyack MSP said: “These figures are deeply disturbing but entirely unsurprising.Any tenant in Edinburgh is aware of just how much rents have spiralled out of control.
“I have been raising constantly with the Scottish Government about the state of the housing crisis in Edinburgh and the wider Lothians. I hope these statistics snap them out of their apathy.
“Edinburgh Council desperately needs more funding if we are ever to get on top of this problem.
“The Scottish Government must finally act and work with councils across Lothian if we are to finally start addressing this housing emergency rather than letting it escalate.”
Warning from the self-catering sector that a punishing regulatory framework will simply cost jobs and do nothing to resolve Edinburgh’s housing crisis
A new independent analysis shows short-term lets make a substantial economic impact in Edinburgh while only making up a tiny percentage of the total number of properties in the city.
BiGGAR Economics, a respected Edinburgh-based consultancy, calculated that the city’s short-term let sector generated £154m in GVA and supported 5,580 jobs in 2023, with guests spending more on local goods and services than the average visitor, particularly in hospitality, tourism and retail sectors.
Jointly commissioned by Justice for Scotland’s Self-Catering and STL Solutions, BiGGAR’s report lays out the economic and fiscal impacts of STLs in Edinburgh, its wider sectoral impact supporting business and tourism activity, and also assesses its effect on housing supply.
The report concludes that the share of secondary lets – properties entirety rented out entirely to guests rather than owner occupied – account for just 0.8% of dwellings in Edinburgh. Moreover, the number of long-term empty properties continues to rise, including in the period after licencing was introduced, with the city remaining a hotspot for empty housing.
The study comes as Edinburgh Council consult on their licensing scheme and the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee will shortly take oral evidence from stakeholders on the Scottish Government’s STL implementation update report.
The key headlines include:
The self-catering sector is estimated to generate £154m GVA and supports 5,580 jobs.
A decrease in just 0.5% in the number of secondary let properties would have massive ramifications for the local economy, losing £57m in economic activity.
Empty properties far exceed the number of short-term lets in the city, with secondary lets making up just 0.8% of dwellings in Edinburgh compared to 4% for empty homes.
While it focuses on Edinburgh, the report will undoubtedly be of interest to other local authorities monitoring the impact of their short-term let regulations.
The findings have been shared with Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government. The self-catering industry is committed to evidence-based policymaking, ensuring that robust and reliable data underpins public policy affecting the self-catering industry and wider tourism sector.
The industry continues to argue that the Scottish Government’s short-term let regulations have produced unintended consequences for the sector while failing to meet its underlying policy objectives, and Edinburgh’s approach in particular has been beset by three legal setbacks, most recently with the Council’s u-turn on issuing three-month suspensions on licensing applications.
Graeme Blackett, Director of BiGGAR Economics, said:“This independent research has found that the economic impacts of short-term lets will tend to be greater than residential use.
“This is a result of guest spending in the local economy, for example in the hospitality sector. The guest spending supports jobs in the Edinburgh economy, as well as sustaining a greater range of hospitality and other local businesses than would otherwise be the case, contributing to the quality of life for residents.
“The short-term lets sector is contributing at least £154 million to the Edinburgh economy each year. Our research also found that short-term let properties account for only 1.5% of Edinburgh’s housing stock, with secondary lets at only 0.8%, too low a proportion to have a meaningful impact on the local housing market.”
Fiona Campbell, CEO of the ASSC, said: “This major research study verifies that secondary lets are a huge economic driver for the capital, supporting over 5,500 jobs, and providing a much-needed boost to other local tourism and hospitality businesses.
“It outlines a proper holistic assessment of Edinburgh’s unique housing market, showing that secondary lets only account for 0.8% of housing stock. For us, the message is clear: you can’t solve a housing crisis by producing a crisis in Scottish tourism by decimating local businesses.
“Instead, we’ve got to build our way out and tackle the increasing problem of empty homes. We sincerely hope that this independent study can help refocus the policy agenda and inform the ongoing regulatory discussions.”
Iain Muirhead, Co-Founder of STL Solutions, said:“Short-term lets play a crucial role not only in supporting Edinburgh’s thriving tourism industry, which benefits all residents, but also in accommodating hundreds of visitors each year who come for economically important purposes such as work, festivals, and the education sector.
“We hope that local councillors will take this report into consideration when shaping local policies, especially planning regulations, to ensure a balanced approach is achieved. As the report indicates, overly restrictive measures could lead to the emergence of a black market, undermining the objectives of a well-regulated licensing scheme.”
Ralph Averbuch, Spokesman for JfSCC, said: “This report clearly demonstrates that full time Scottish Self-Catering operators have never been the issue. Yet we have been hounded as if killing off this vital part of Scotland’s tourism offering would be a magic cure for decades of government missteps.
“Politicians of all colours felt we were useful scapegoats but this economic analysis pinpoints that the problem is population growth and insufficient affordable house building. This problem will never be resolved by attacking a group which makes up less than 1% of Edinburgh housing.
“What’s needed is bold government action on housebuilding. Politicians have pretended that a crackdown on Scotland’s self-caterers is bold. It’s not. It’s been a master class in misdirection.”
Council refuses to pass on uplift in Housing Benefit to charity housing provider as Scottish Government declares a housing emergency
Right There, a charity which helps prevent homelessness, has been forced to end its contract with City of Edinburgh Council, to provide critical housing in three locations for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
The charity, which was formerly called Ypeople, says this is its ‘absolute worst case scenario’, and ‘a last resort’ but after months of trying to negotiate with the Council, housing bosses are refusing to pass on its uplift in housing benefit to increase the Housing Management Payment.
The Housing Management Payment has remained unchanged since 2019 despite the cost of living skyrocketing in that time. Over the last five years, the local authority has received increased housing benefit which it refuses to pass on to providers to help deal with increased costs of running an assisted housing programme.
The housing facilities facing closure are one in Broomhouse and two residential units in Pilton. Their closure comes after the local authority failed to engage with the charity on contractual terms over recent weeks.
It will build pressure on the Council’s administration after a housing emergency was declared in the capital in November of last year, now even more so with the Scottish Government expected to announce a national housing emergency later today.
Janet Haugh, CEO of Right Theresaid: “We are devastated that we are having to pull the plug on this service, this is our absolute worst case scenario, especially when Scotland is at the brink of a national housing crisis.
“We have done everything in our power to resolve this with the Council but sadly as a charity we simply cannot absorb a projected £2.5 million deficit over the next five years and continue running this service.”
Housing Benefit levels have increased across Scotland to reflect the increased cost of living, utilities and general inflationary increases. Despite that, the Council expects Right There to subsidise the cost of an essential service despite being in receipt of additional payments to which the residents are entitled.
The project run by Right There provides accommodation support for 44 of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people, who live with the consequences of family breakdowns, homelessness, poverty, addiction, and many other challenges. In addition, the jobs of 19 support workers are now at risk.
Janet Haughadded: “We have exhausted all avenues with the Council and bringing the contract to a conclusion by triggering the three months’ notice period is our last resort.
“Our priority now is to work with the Council to hand over the running of the programme to either the local authority or another provider to ensure as much continuity and as little distress as possible for the 44 residents affected, and the support workers whose jobs are at risk.”
THE lack of a strategic, evidence based approach to the private rented sector (PRS) by the Scottish Government is impacting the effectiveness of the sector to assist with Scotland’s housing crisis. This is one of the key findings in the latest Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) report by the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland (CIH Scotland) and Fife Council.
The sector report urges the Scottish Government to show leadership in ensuring all elements of Scotland’s housing market work together, effectively, to tackle the housing crisis. It calls on government to set a clear evidence based vision for the PRS, highlighting the vital role the PRS plays in addressing Scotland’s housing needs.
The Scottish Government’s latest homelessness statistics covering the period April to September 2023 show a continuing increase in homelessness levels with a 10 per cent increase in the number of open cases and an eight per cent increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation compared to the same period in the previous year.
Underlining the findings of the report Gavin Smith, chair of CIH Scotland said: “The private rented sector is a vital part of our housing infrastructure and has the potential to alleviate homelessness in Scotland.
“However, we’re currently seeing Scotland’s PRS contract, with 68 per cent of local authorities who took part in this research reporting an increase of private landlords leaving the market in their area and 47 per cent concerned about increasing levels of homelessness from the PRS.
“The reduction in supply, further amplifies the issue of demand with record levels of people living in temporary accommodation and building figures dropping. This report calls on the Scottish Government to acknowledge the PRS as a systemic part of Scotland’s housing infrastructure and implement an evidence and strategic based approach to its legislation and policy making in this area.”
The report highlights that the percentage of homeless households being housed in a private rented tenancy has steadily decreased each year since 2021.
Homes for Good – Scotland’s first social enterprise letting agency – are committed to creating secure quality homes for tenants and enabling landlords to successfully manage their investments.
Joey Lawrie, head of lettings and tenancy support at Homes for Good sets out why it is so important not just to provide a tenancy but to create beautiful spaces where tenants can feel at home.
“We deal with all types of people at Homes for Good, with the aim of providing safe, secure homes. In a recent survey, all the tenants we spoke with expressed that they felt safe and secure in their tenancy.
“This is mainly because we provide a supportive, open service working with tenants to resolve any issues that arise. We know from speaking with tenants that many people’s experience of the PRS is one of uncertainty.
“At Homes for Good, we know that doesn’t have to be the case and support the findings of the report, advocating for a plan to enable all of the private rented sector to be an effective part of Scotland’s housing solution.”
The report is the fourth and final in a series examining local authority approaches to tackling homelessness through Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans (RRTPs) first introduced at the end of 2018.
It follows the publication at the end of 2023 of the third report, which analysed the affordability of the PRS for local housing allowance recipients in Scotland and found 92 per cent of private rent was not affordable.
Additional reports in the series made the case for continuing to provide dedicated funding to tackle homelessness through RRTPs for the next five years and provided a monitoring framework for local authorities.
Delivering more social homes is the only way to end Edinburgh’s housing emergency according to a leading housing charity.
Speaking at a housing summit hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Shelter Scotland Director Alison Watson said investing in social homes would be vital in fixing the city’s broken housing system.
The summit comes just a day after new figures revealed that 1,525 children in Edinburgh are living in temporary accommodation, the highest number on record and more than any other local authority in Scotland.
The same figures also showed an increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation, the number of open homeless applications, and the number of breaches of the unsuitable accommodation order in Edinburgh.
Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said:“Record numbers of children in Edinburgh have nowhere to call home, rents are out of control, resource starved local services can’t cope and so people’s housing rights are being breached, the law is being broken, with alarming regularity.
“Undoubtedly the root cause of Edinburgh’s housing emergency is a chronic shortage of social housing. Addressing that shortfall is the only way to fix the capital’s utterly broken housing system.
“Only yesterday the Scottish Government has pressed ahead with brutal cuts to the housing budget – a choice which is set to make the situation much worse.
“Our politicians need to understand that you can’t slash funding for social housing then expect those who live in the capital to take you seriously when you say you’re committed to tackling Edinburgh’s housing emergency.”
