Question reference: S6W-22791
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 November 2023
-
Current status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 November 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people have been charged up to double the normal council tax rate for homes that have been empty for 12 months or more, or 24 months where the property is being actively marketed for sale, in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
Local authorities have had the power to charge an empty homes council tax premium of up to 100% since 1 April 2013. The Scottish Government’s statistics show that at September 2022 42,865 homes had been empty for more than 6 months. Of these 27,692 had been empty for over 12 months and of those 20,279 had a council tax discount below 10% or a council tax premium applied.
A further breakdown by local authority for homes empty for more than 12 months is available on the Scottish Government website from 2014 onwards: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-empty-properties-and-second-homes/ .