FO Request - Empty Homes

Request 101003297996 

Please provide the following information in spreadsheet form.

1a) From 2018/19 to 2022/23, please advise how many empty homes in your council area were recorded.

Please break the results down by year, and provide an address, co-ordinates, or at least a postcode for each home.

b) Please also advise how long each home had been vacant for.

Response 16-05-2023

1a) As we are not able to retrospectively see what the position was at a point in previous years, due to the database continually changing. We can only provide a snapshot as at a recently produced report. As at 31st March 2023 there were 2577 empty homes.

Disclosing the addresses or postcodes of empty residential properties could increase the risk of criminal activity being targeted at those houses. This information is therefore exempt under section 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) 2002; prejudice to the prevention or detection of crime. It is not considered in the public interest to release this information and it is deemed that there is a risk of substantial prejudice to the prevention of crime if this information were to be released.

1b) As we cannot detail individual properties, we cannot provide information on how long they have been empty for.