Highland housing need clear from census results says MSP
Census figures released this week show the scale of the housing transformation needed across the Highlands and Islands to address the housing emergency an MSP has said.
For the first time, the figures show that more people own their own homes outright in Scotland than rent or have a mortgage. This is mostly due to the country’s ageing population.
Highland Council declares a ‘housing challenge’
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There has also been a sharp increase in the number of detached homes and the number of homes that are under-occupied.
Ariane Burgess, Scottish Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands, has highlighted the under-occupancy figures saying they point to a particular challenge for addressing the housing emergency in rural communities.
“Nationally, just under a third of homes have more bedrooms than needed but in my region those figures are substantially higher,” she said.
“I often speak to constituents who feel trapped in homes that are too big for them to maintain and heat but who feel unable to move due to a lack of suitable smaller properties in their local area. This in turn makes it difficult for young people and families to find affordable homes.”
Ms Burgess believes that this, combined with the latest figures on short-term lets and second homes, points to the complex challenges facing councils when seeking to address the housing emergency.
According to Scottish Government figures released last month, island authorities have almost a third of new short-term lets but only 9.6 per cent of the population - islands themselves make up two per cent of the population.
Less than one per cent of homes in Scotland are registered as second homes, yet in island authorities the figure is consistently higher.
“We urgently need to think creatively about better use of our existing housing stock, rather than solely focussing on building more new homes,” Ms Burgess said.
“Green policies implemented while we were in government, like bringing in registration of short-term lets and giving councils new powers over taxation on empty homes, has helped us to see the scale of the challenge; it’s vital the government uses this data to support the creation of more rural homes.
