A new study has revealed the Scottish areas with the greatest number of empty homes, with some having over 10 per cent of dwellings vacant.
The research, carried out by money.co.uk, found that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has the highest percentage of empty accommodation. It was discovered that the Outer Hebrides council area has 2,000 vacant homes, or 13.3 per cent of its total number of dwellings.
Following in second is Argyll & Bute, which was found to have 5,000 empty homes out of around 48,000, or 10.4 per cent. The administrative area is the second-largest in Scotland, and its border runs through Loch Lomond.
Rounding out the top five are the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, and the Scottish Borders, which have vacancy percentages of 9.1, 9.1, and 6.8 respectively. Other areas to appear in the top 10 include Highland and Dumfries & Galloway, with both have 6.7 per cent of empty homes.
To find out the number of empty dwellings, researchers used The Scottish Government’s housing statistics. The number of houses per 100,000 people and per cent of vacant dwellings was calculated for each area using the Office for National Statistics’ mid-2020 estimates of the population for Scotland.
The study also found that East Lothian in Scotland has the most affordable housing for its population in the UK, with 187 affordable homes per 100,000 dwellings. Meanwhile, the UK area with the greatest housing shortage is Newham in London, with only 33,875 dwellings per 100,000 people.
The Scottish areas with the most empty homes
- Na h-Eileanan Siar, 13.3% dwellings vacant
- Argyll & Bute, 10.4% dwellings vacant
- Orkney Islands, 9.1% dwellings vacant
- Shetland Islands, 9.1% dwellings vacant
- Scottish Borders, 6.8% dwellings vacant
- Highland, 6.7% dwellings vacant
- Dumfries & Galloway, 6.7% dwellings vacant
- Moray, 6.5% dwellings vacant
- Aberdeen City, 5.8% dwellings vacant
- Aberdeenshire, 5.8% dwellings vacant
Local authorities with the most affordable houses for its population
- East Lothian, 187 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Midlothian, 157 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Perth & Kinross, 149 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- West Lothian, 145 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Tower Hamlets, 133 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- East Renfrewshire, 108 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Highland, 104 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- South Lanarkshire, 102 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Shetland Islands, 98 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
- Aberdeenshire, 98 affordable homes per 10,000 dwellings
The full research, including more information about the methodology used, can be found on the money.co.uk website.
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