Edinburgh council launches 5-year-plan to reduce number of empty homes
A five-year plan to reduce the number of empty homes in Edinburgh has been launched by the council in response to the city’s housing emergency.
The ‘Empty Homes Strategy’ aims to bring dormant properties back into use with a focus on supporting homeless households. An estimated 3,000 homes remain unused with more than 80 per cent of them having been vacant for more than a year.
The council said the strategy will help identify vacant homes earlier and secure quicker routes to restoring void properties. It added 81 privately owned empty properties have been brought back into use in the last year, bringing the total number of restored homes to 149 since 2023 when the capital declared a housing emergency.
Councillor Tim Pogson, housing, homelessness and fair work convener, said: “We’re committed to addressing the issue of empty homes across the city, to make sure that more properties are brought back into use and contribute to our housing stock.
“There are a variety of reasons why properties become empty, from legal and financial issues to personal circumstances and market dynamics. Our Empty Homes Team focuses on advising owners about their options, including selling their property or becoming a private landlord, helping to make more homes available to buyers and renters.
“With 149 homes made available since 2023 it’s great that people and families now have homes they would otherwise not have had, but there is still much more to do. We estimate there are over 3,000 empty homes in the city, with around 2,500 empty for more than twelve months.
“That is why we will continue to build on what has already been a very successful approach and encourage owners of empty homes to contact the council for support to bring their property back into use.”
Councillors approved the Empty Homes Strategy and Annual Report at the housing, homelessness and fair work committee on Tuesday, setting out how the council will accelerate work over the next five years.
Progress includes offering advice to owners of properties that have been empty for close to twelve months, participating in the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership matchmaker scheme and developing proposals for a new grant scheme linked to the council’s Private Sector Leasing programme that would help owners make empty homes lettable, which would increase the supply of temporary accommodation available in the city.
Edinburgh declared a housing emergency in November 2023 in response to challenges including rising homelessness, an acute shortage of social housing and growing pressure on temporary accommodation.