Empty Homes

Private owners are responsible for private houses

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 reiterates that the owner of a property is responsible for maintaining, repairing and improving private houses, and paying for works required; irrespective of their age, income or any other mitigating factors.

However, we recognise that there are particular challenges of sub-standard housing in Moray, particularly with regard to long term empty homes. For advice on empty homes please contact Shelter 

Housing Standards

There are various Housing Standards that apply to private and social sector homes dependent on their use:

  • The Tolerable Standard;
  • Sub-standard Houses;
  • Amenity;
  • The Repairing Standard;
  • The Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS).

For works undertaken to bring an empty property back into use it must meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), where reasonably practical, which means the property must:

  1. be Compliant with the Tolerable Standard;
  2. be Free From Serious Disrepair;
  3. be Energy Efficient;
  4. have Modern Facilities and Services;
  5. be Healthy, Safe and Secure.

The SHQS is a set of five broad housing criteria which consist of 55 elements and nine sub-elements. A summary or a full explanation of these standards can be found on the Scottish Governments website. 

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