The Scottish government has announced an additional £700,000 to bring empty properties back into use, following a record year for Scotland's empty homes programme.
Ten local authorities will share the money to help homeowners repair and refurbish vacant properties. Councils can use the funding to establish new grant schemes or expand existing ones. The aim is to return more properties to use as affordable housing or temporary accommodation.
The announcement takes the Scottish Government's investment in tackling empty homes to £2m this financial year.
Record number of empty homes returned to use
New figures from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership show that 2,285 properties returned to use during 2025-26, the highest annual total recorded by the programme. Since 2010, more than 15,000 empty homes have returned to use. The Scottish Government has invested £5.7m in the partnership approach over that period.
Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing, Shirley-Anne Somerville, announced the funding at a conference in Glasgow.
Funding may reduce temporary accommodation stays
Somerville said: "While house building remains the cornerstone of our approach to increase supply, we're using every lever available to make sure existing homes support the needs of our communities too. That's why this funding matters."
She said the investment could also help councils reduce the number of households spending extended periods in temporary accommodation. "Temporary accommodation can act as an important safety net, but we also recognise the impact that long-term stays can have particularly on children's wellbeing and stability. This funding may help councils to move households from temporary into settled permanent accommodation."
Partnership welcomes investment
Tahmina Nizam, national manager of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, welcomed the additional funding. "We know that sustained, targeted investment in empty homes can deliver real and measurable outcomes, with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership annual survey showing a record 2,285 formerly empty properties brought back into use."
"Rather than lying vacant, these are now providing homes for thousands of individuals and families across Scotland." Nizam said previous investment had helped councils expand their empty homes services and supported grants for individual properties.
Hazel MacIver, policy and campaigns officer at Propertymark, also welcomed the announcement. She argued that returning vacant properties to use could help ease housing shortages and improve local communities.
"Propertymark is pleased to see additional funding to bring more empty homes back into use. We have long said that redeploying empty homes is an efficient and cost-effective way to ease housing pressures and boost property values, but it can also improve and revive local communities."
"This is even more vital in a housing emergency where building more houses is essential, but at the same time, bringing empty homes back into use can ease the pressure on housing availability. Strengthening the Empty Homes Partnership and further resourcing it means that work to tackle empty homes can be expanded."
The government has not specified how many additional properties it expects the £700,000 funding to bring back into use.
