Compulsory leasing of empty homes in Scotland
By: Shelter Scotland Published: March 2005
This is one of a series of position papers produced by Shelter on the Housing (Scotland) Bill. This briefing focuses on compulsory leasing of empty homes in Scotland.
- Compulsory leasing of empty homes in Scotland (PDF 174.1 KB)
Summary
There are a considerable number of homes in the private sector in Scotland, which have been empty for more than 6 months. Given the shortage of affordable housing, it is counter productive to have potential homes lying empty. Shelter proposes that the Housing Bill introduces a mandatory leasing scheme for local authorities to allow them to bring empty properties back into use. Many properties in Scotland remain empty through the unwillingness of owners to rent. Shelter believes that Local Authorities should be given powers to take temporary management control of such properties to bring them back into use to provide an additional supply of emergency or interim housing in high demand areas.
