The Scottish Government will bring forward legislation to help ensure that housing and funding for housing are used more efficiently in Scotland by making better use of existing homes which are empty and ensuring funding for housing can be targeted at key priorities.
The Scottish Government wants to tackle the problem of empty homes, which are a wasted resource and often also a blight on local communities as they attract vandalism. Some 25,000 homes in Scotland have been empty for at least six months. The proposed Bill will:
- give Councils the power both to remove existing discounts and also to charge an additional levy on the Council Tax on homes which have been empty for six months or more
- allow Councils to decide what level of discount or levy is appropriate in their area depending on local circumstances; Councils will also be able to choose to provide exemptions from the levy in certain cases
- help to increase the number of homes available to those who need them, both by encouraging owners to rent or sell their homes rather than leaving them empty and also by raising extra revenue for Councils to spend on providing more affordable housing. If all Councils decide to use the new powers, they could raise up to £30 million per year to spend on much-needed affordable homes in Scotland
The Bill will also abolish the Housing Support Grant, which was originally established to subsidise local authorities' housing budgets by helping pay interest on housing debts. Nowadays, under the prudential borrowing rules, local authorities are expected only to borrow funds for housing projects when they are satisfied that they will be able to repay the borrowing from rents or other income. Therefore the Scottish Government feels the Housing Support Grant is no longer needed. Housing Support Grant currently costs around £1 million per year. If it is abolished, future Government funding for housing could be better targeted on other priorities, such as helping to increase the supply of new affordable housing.