Key Points

The latest council tax data (in September 2024) shows there were:

• 21,606 second homes.
• 43,538 properties that had been empty for more than 6 months. Of which, 73% (31,596) were categorised as long-term empty homes (i.e. empty for over 12 months).
• 47,779 unoccupied exemptions.
• Per 10,000 dwellings, the highest rate of second homes was in Argyll and Bute (603). The highest rate of empty homes was in Na h-Eileanan Siar (478), and the highest rate of long-term empty home was in Na h-Eileanan Siar (436).

Compared with the previous year (2023), there was a:

• decrease of 10% (2,455) in second homes, this is the biggest annual decrease in 10 years. This could be related to the ability for local authorities to implement a 100% council tax premium (i.e. double council tax) on second homes that came into effect on April 2024.
• decrease of 6% (2,679) in empty homes, which is likely to be associated with a clarification in the data specification to ensure only empty homes at or over 6 months would be counted in the data.  This decrease was driven by the City of Edinburgh, where data from 2024 is now provided for empty homes 6 months or over (decrease of 57%, -4,107).
• increase of 12% (3,316) in long term empty homes (empty for over 12 months).
• increase of 1% (486) in unoccupied exemptions.