Scottish homes are not for hoarding
The Scottish Government must close loopholes which allow the wealthy to hoard extra homes at the expense of local communities, say Scottish Greens.
Speaking ahead of his Members’ Business Debate today in Holyrood, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer said it is a national disgrace that thousands of children are in temporary accommodation at the same time as the rich continue to pay little tax whilst holding vast property portfolios.
Greer’s motion highlights that in areas such as Coigach in Wester Ross a majority of homes are now second homes or holiday lets, causing acute local housing crises and forcing young people to leave their own communities just to secure their own home.
Other communities where second homes and holiday lets are now a major problem include the Isle of Arran and both Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Parks.
Mr Greer said:
“Across Scotland there are thousands of homes which no-one actually lives in, because they are either second homes or Airbnb-style holiday lets. At the same time, thousands of children are stuck in temporary accommodation and young people are forced out of the communities they’ve grown up in due to lack of housing. These problems are directly connected.
“Wealthy people collecting second homes are driving up house prices and creating acute local shortages. This hollows out communities, especially in rural areas and on our islands. Four in ten properties in Lochranza on Arran are either holiday homes or lets, which just isn’t sustainable.
“Unbelievably, despite the damage they are doing to so many communities, these Airbnb-style short-term lets often don’t have to pay business rates. I’ve proposed an end to that tax break, but the Scottish Government is resisting this much needed reform.
“The Scottish Greens have already doubled Council Tax on holiday homes, with our plan being that owners would sell up and make the properties available for those who need somewhere to live. That is already working, with 2455 fewer second homes in Scotland last year compared to 2023. With a housing crisis this bad though, we need to go further.
“More new homes need to be built, but that won’t tackle the problem if many of them just become second homes or holiday lets as well. Our tax system needs to change, to end the advantages enjoyed by the wealthy and to make things easier for first time buyers.”
Today’s debate also coincides with the first anniversary of the Scottish Parliament’s decision to declare a housing emergency in Scotland. Mr Greer said this should focus minds in the Scottish Government on taking urgent, concrete action.
He added:
“Today marks a year since MSPs voted to declare a housing emergency in Scotland. Despite the widespread acceptance that our housing system is broken, very little has changed over the last 12 months.
“I hope today’s debate underlines the vast inequality between those who own multiple homes and those who cannot afford their rent, let alone to own their own home.”