An MSP has hit out after the latest figures revealed more than 1800 homes in North Lanarkshire remain empty despite the demand for houses increasing.
New housing statistics released by the Scottish Government have shown that there are 1,846 long term empty homes in North Lanarkshire and over 42,000 across Scotland.
Similarly, the number of homes that have been empty for more than 12 months and for which a council tax discount of less than 10 per cent, or an increase in council tax has been applied, are up across Scotland including by 11 per cent in North Lanarkshire.
Lanarkshire Labour MSP Mark Griffin, who is campaigning for new legislation to tackle problematic long-term empty homes, says the new statistics underscore how urgent the issue is.
He said: “Homes should be for living in yet far too many are lying empty, sometimes for years on end. As far back as 2014 the Scottish Government recognised that this was an issue yet, nine years later, it is only getting worse.
“Whilst there are clearly legitimate and understandable reasons for some properties to be empty, this isn’t always the case.
“New legislation would empower local authorities to intervene in problematic cases and ensure that properties are either brought back into use or sold. I again urge the Housing Minister to stop delaying and bring legislation forward as soon as possible.”
Central Wishaw Labour councillor Frank McKay is backing Mr Griffin’s campaign.
He told Lanarkshire Live: “Sometimes homes are temporarily empty for good reason and that’s fair enough however in some cases houses have lay empty for a decade or longer, causing a lot of problems for the rest of the street.
“Even in these cases, the council has very little power to force action. I’m fully supportive of Mark’s campaign for new legislation as this needs to change.”
Councillor Heather Brannan-McVey, Convener of NLC's Housing Committee, said: “Councils have limited powers within current legislation to act on abandoned and empty homes.
"I will be hosting a round table discussion on the topic to explore the impact this issue has in North Lanarkshire, consider how we are dealing with it and what levers we need to enable our council and others to tackle this issue. Homes are for living in and I want to make sure local families have access to homes not currently in use.”
*Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
