A new national online portal has been launched to help empty homeowners connect with buyers and developers, with the aim of returning more long term empty properties to active use as homes.
The portal covers the whole of Scotland and brings together owners of empty homes with people looking to buy, renovate or repurpose properties for housing.
It builds on the success of local matchmaker schemes that have operated in several areas, allowing owners to upload details of empty homes and receive enquiries from first time buyers, families, developers, local authorities and housing organisations.
The new platform is hosted by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.
It has been developed as part of a £2 million investment this year to recruit additional empty homes officers and fund initiatives designed to accelerate the number of properties brought back into use.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said the scheme is a practical response to the housing emergency.
“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.”
She encouraged owners to engage with the new scheme.
“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, National Manager of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, said every empty home represents a missed opportunity.
“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.”
The portal is now live and available to owners across Scotland.
