New empty homes officers have a big part to play, says housing secretary

Additional empty homes officers will play a “vital” role in bringing Scotland’s vacant properties back into use and helping address the nation’s housing crisis, the Scottish government’s housing secretary, Mairi McAllan, has said.

Nine of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have already agreed to recruit additional empty home officers, with the new posts forming part of a £2m investment from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership for 2025-26.

Ms McAllan said: “Bringing homes back into use is a vital part of our plan to tackle the housing emergency. When too many families are struggling to find somewhere to live, it is unacceptable to me that houses should lie empty.”

Latest figures (from September 2024) suggest Scotland has around 43,500 homes that have been vacant for more than six months – 73 per cent of which had sat empty for over a year. At the same time there are 16,634 households – including 10,360 children – living in temporary accommodation, while 17,424 households were assessed as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness between April and September 2024.

Tahmina Nizam, Scottish Empty Homes Partnership national manager, said: “Every home matters as we work together to end Scotland’s housing emergency.

“In councils across the country empty homes officers are delivering results, with over 11,000 homes having brought back into use since 2010. The additional posts supported by this funding will expand on that vital work. 

“Homes weren’t built to sit empty – every empty home has the potential to transform a family or individual’s life, but collectively they have an enormous role to play in reducing housing need and tackling the housing emergency.”

To address the housing crisis, the Scottish Government aims to deliver 110,000 homes for affordable rent or purchase by 2032. Figures from the National Records of Scotland show 19,900 new builds were completed in 2025, the lowest number since 2018, excluding 2020. However, the number is still higher than the 20-year average going back to 2004.