Data and methodology

1. More detail on the data and methodology can be found in the explanation of quarterly housing statistics note and data quality, sources and suitability notes.
2. In September 2024 the guidance for empty properties data collection was strengthened to ensure that councils excluded properties empty less than 6 months from their data return (in CTAXBASE 8b).  It was discovered that prior to 2024 some councils had included these in their return to the Scottish Government. Empty home statistics (>6 months) will therefore be overstated in such instances; however, we are not able to quantify the impact of their inclusion on published statistics before 2024.
3. There are several factors that can impact on the number of long term empty properties and second homes that are counted through the council tax statistics including changes to council tax liability policy and management information systems.
4. Trends over time within each of these categories should be interpreted with some caution, given that increases and decreases can be caused in part by reclassification exercises which local authorities carry out from time to time, or issues with management information systems, rather than being real changes in the numbers of properties.
5. Regarding policy changes, from 1st April 2013, local authorities gained the discretionary power to remove the council tax discount associated with long term empty properties or to set a council tax increase of up to 100% on certain properties which have been empty for 12 months or more. Prior to April 2017, second homes were entitled to a council tax discount of between 10% and 50%, and as of April 2017, local authorities were also given the option to remove the council tax discount on second homes.
6. Powers enabling Councils in Scotland to apply either, a 50% Council Tax discount, the standard rate, or an up to 100% council tax premium (double the rate) on second homes came into force in April 2024. 30 local authorities have introduced the premium in some form. 
7. Management information systems can also have an impact on how properties are recorded. In addition, there have also been some improvements in the data held by some local authorities leading to the reclassification of a number of properties between the long term empty and second home categories. These changes should be kept in mind when comparing the numbers in recent years. An audit on long-term empty homes policy, including the methodology used to measure empty homes was published by the Scottish Government in September 2023: Bringing empty homes back into use: audit of privately owned empty homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).