The huddle: Is multiple home ownership exacerbating the housing emergency?

Ewan Aitken, chief executive, Cyrenians

I will not defend anyone who proudly hoards resources when some have none, but it is never helpful in politics to spend time vilifying one group of people. Let us be clear – our housing emergency is the result of multiple failures, from several governments compounded by global events. 

This emergency is real and a genuine threat to public health – spending too much time affixing blame is an insult to the people who need real, tangible solutions now. Solutions which respond to the complexity of the problem. We absolutely need more social housing – but we need more than that. We need good social housing. We need investment in health and social care. Otherwise, we will continue to let people down.

Jane Wood, chief executive, Homes for Scotland

We are now into the third year of a national housing emergency, the only way out of which is to build more homes of all types – private and social, rural and urban. 

This new parliament will need to find the common ground required to achieve this. That means releasing more land, dealing with the increasing cost of building regulation, easing the time and cost of the creaking planning system and making building more viable. It is further essential that politicians recognise and understand that having a warm, safe home that meets people’s needs and that they can afford is not only a pre-requisite for social wellbeing but also a key driver of growth and fundamental to achieving wider policy objectives.

Prof Ken Gibb, professor in housing economics, University of Glasgow

I take this to mean second homes and other properties removed from the effective housing stock (eg, short-term lets, long-term vacant and empty housing, as well as second homes). This mismatch does not help if there are big shortages in any specific place such as in Edinburgh and is also particularly problematic in unaffordable rural housing. Policy sticks like additional council tax on second homes are crude incentives to dispose of such properties, but we could also use carrots. A wider problem is under-occupation where people have spare bedrooms. In Edinburgh there is an estimated 57,000 under-occupied homes by at least one bedroom. If only a third of them have two or more spare bedrooms, we should surely be doing something about it? Why not exempt land buildings transaction tax on those who are over 60 to encourage them to ‘right-size’?

John Taylor, SHOFT (Second Home Owners for Fair Treatment) 

While in certain locations second homes can contribute to the housing shortage, in many areas they are a vital part of the community. Second homes are maintained by local tradespeople with many of these houses having had major improvements undertaken using local building trades and suppliers. Second homeowners in tourist areas provide essential regular income to local businesses and the hospitality industry. By being an essential part of the local economy vital shops and other key businesses remain viable when without second homeowners many businesses would fail to the detriment of the community. Second homeowners also join local clubs and support community initiatives that would struggle to survive without this support. In many occasions houses would remain empty if not bought as second homes. It should also be noted that many second homes play an essential role in family life, being required to support elderly care, student education and work requirements. We need to build more houses especially social housing to solve the housing problem. In summary, second homes should not always be regarded as a problem; they should on many occasions be seen as playing an important role in many communities especially in rural areas.

Robin McAlpine, head of strategic development, Common Weal

It surprises me that we still don’t talk about the ‘housing crisis’ clearly. What is the crisis exactly? The answer is simple, but the politicians never say it out loud: this is a crisis of affordability. There is no escaping the fact that house prices have been constantly increasing as a ratio of average salaries. A high school maths class could tell you that that can’t go on forever without significant impacts, and we’re way past that point.

There is nothing complicated about this; government must bring down wage-to-house-price ratios or the crisis remains. That means that policy should identify anything which increase house prices – such as the buy-to-let industry, help to buy schemes or letting the private developers who have pushed prices up continue to control supply – and damp down that cost price pressure.

Barbara Welsh, chair, Living Rent

Everyone needs a home, but nobody needs more than one. Every second home is one less family living in our communities. Second homes inflate housing prices and push up rents. In Tiree, nearly half of homes are empty for most of the year. Across the Highlands inflated rents are pushing people out and forcing schools and shops to close. In Edinburgh second homes and holiday lets have helped push rents up at double the rate of inflation.

If councils are serious about ensuring everyone has a roof over their head, they must increase council tax on empty homes to deter multiple home ownership. The Scottish Government also needs to close loopholes that allow operators to bypass restrictions and reduce the number of short-term lets. But to properly fix the housing emergency, this government also needs to build a mass programme of social housing and introduce rent controls that apply to all tenures and bring rents down.

Luke Fraser, chair, Scottish Islands Federation

Multiple home ownership can exacerbate the housing emergency, but the impact depends on how homes are used. In rural and island communities with limited supply, under-occupied second homes and high levels of short-term lets can reduce availability for permanent residents. Tourism and family links are also important in these communities, so there has to be a balance. A private rental market that works for tenants and landlords is also vital.

Scotland needs significantly more new homes across all tenures. Community-led housing has an important role to play in ensuring development reflects local needs and supports the long-term sustainability of communities. An enhanced Rural and Islands Housing Fund is essential to this goal. 

Dr Josh Doble, director of policy and advocacy, Community Land Scotland 

Scotland is in the midst of an unprecedented national housing crisis. This disaster is driving depopulation and restricting inclusive economic growth across the country.

At the heart of the issue is second home ownership – a stark embodiment of the economic and social inequality in Scotland, which is so often rooted in and exacerbated by property and landownership. Second home ownership inflates property values and restricts housing stock in some of our most depopulated communities.

We need bold action to address this crisis. Recent interventions by local authorities, not least Highland Council, in setting new additional council tax charges on second homes at 300 per cent are very welcome.

We also hope that the new Scottish Government will find ways of restricting second-home ownership, as was committed to in the SNP manifesto.

This may include the introduction of compulsory sale orders, requiring ‘change of use’ in planning for holiday homes and increasing the availability of land for community-led housing projects.

We hope that politicians, especially those recently elected, take a moment to reflect on their own asset ownership and their leadership role in shaping the society we want to have, not benefiting from the deep injustice of the status quo. 

Fiona Campbell, chief executive, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers

Scotland’s housing emergency will not be solved by scapegoating small tourism businesses or debating whether individuals should own more than one property. That is not the issue at hand. The real challenge is a chronic failure to increase housing supply and bring existing stock back into use.

The Scottish Government is already falling behind on its target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, while there are around 45,000 long-term empty homes across Scotland that could and should be reactivated. There are also only around 24,000 second homes nationally, so the narrative often risks overstating the scale of the issue.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s self-catering sector supports livelihoods, communities, and local economies across the country, contributing around £1bn annually and sustaining more than 29,000 jobs. If we are serious about ensuring there are homes for everyone, the focus must be on building more homes, unlocking empty properties, and delivering practical housing solutions without damaging a vital part of Scotland’s visitor economy.