NAC seeks to use empty homes

North Ayrshire Council is to apply to the Scottish Government’s new £4 million Empty Homes Loan Fund, aiming to bring empty houses into use by people in need of affordable housing. The Council’s Housing Services carried out an empty homes survey in September, and found that North Ayrshire contains an estimated 700 long-term empty homes.

Through the North Ayrshire Empty Homes Recyclable Loan Fund, the Council has agreed to apply for £200,000 to help bring empty homes back into use. The idea is that interest-free loans – capped at £15,000 – should be offered to owners of houses that have to have been empty for more than six months and require work to be carried out to bring them up to a habitable standard.

More than half of respondents said that they would be interested in working with the Council to bring the property back into use, with a quarter saying that a grant or loan would help them to achieve this.