Thousands of Glasgow homes have sat empty for six months or more

House prices in Glasgow are continuing to soar, with desperate buyers spending more and more to secure a home in the city.

The city is littered with beautiful homes, from classic Victorian detached houses to iconic Glasgow tenements.

Unfortunately, thousands of homes in Glasgow have not been cared for. Walking around the city, you’ll find old homes with smashed in windows, leaking roofs and rotting floorboards, in need of some TLC.

How many empty homes are in Glasgow?

The Scottish Government keeps a register of all the empty homes in Scotland. It includes Unoccupied Exemptions (which are empty for less than six months and exempt from paying council tax), Long Term Empty Properties (those which have been empty for more than six months and must pay council tax), and Second Homes (those which are lived in for at least 25 days a year, but not used as a main residence).

According to the data, there are 2958 homes in Glasgow which have been empty for at least six months. There are a further 516 second homes and 4976 unoccupied exemptions.

Of those empty homes, 2939 have been empty for at least 12 months.

The combined number of empty homes and second homes has remained steady since 2005 - the earliest year data is available for. Then, there were 4571 empty or second homes, compared to 3474 now.

You can find the latest information on empty homes on the Scottish Government website.

How many compulsory purchases has Glasgow City Council made?

A compulsory purchase allows a local authority to buy someone’s property without their approval. This can be done when an agreement between the two parties cannot be reached - but when there is enough public interest for the purchase to go ahead.

It was recently revealed that Glasgow City Council has pursued 52 homes for compulsory purchases since 2019, as it aims to bring more empty homes into public use.

The Scottish Government has a record of all compulsory purchases made by each local authority since 2012.

It shows that since then, the council has made 14 compulsory purchases to be used for housing. One has been used for transport, and five have been made for wider projects - including for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which Glasgow hosted.

What properties has Glasgow City Council purchased?

According to the Scottish Government list, the following properties have been purchased by Glasgow City Council for housing purposes.

48 Linnhead Drive - 5 burnt out, unoccupied flats

97 Westmoreland Street - 6 tenement flats, four unoccupied

7 Ibrox Street - 2 empty flats

Flat 0/2, 36 Elizabeth Street - empty flat

Flat 2/2, 670 Eglinton Street - empty flat

61 Albert Road - 1 empty villa

Flat 0/1, 25 Holmhead Place - 1 empty flat

40 Ravenscraig Drive - 2 burnt out flats

7&9 Harley Street - 2 empty retail units

940 Dumbarton Road - 1 empty retail unit

Anderston - various mainly occupied properties in the estate

Monteith Row - derelict land

Flat 1/2, 1 Glenelg Quadrant - 1 empty flat

Shawbridge Street - various plots of land where tenement stood

A decision on purchasing 110 Lochdochart Road is also pending.

How many Empty Homes Officers does Glasgow City Council have?

Despite the thousands of empty homes across Glasgow, the council has just three staff members working on the issue.

And one of those only started working today (Monday). Before then, the council had just two Empty Homes Officers for Glasgow.