HOUSING chiefs have revealed they are doubling down on efforts to bring empty homes in Dumfries and Galloway back into use for the many people finding themselves homeless.
Dumfries and Galloway Council last week approved an emergency housing action plan to try and address the severe shortage of homes in the region.
This includes repurposing other buildings across the region as houses, fast-tracking the delivery of new build social homes, and also bringing more empty properties back into use.
At last week’s full council meeting, North West Dumfries Councillor Emma Jordan asked: “How easy is it really to bring empty homes back into use?
“Because potentially owners could be hard to reach, the properties may need work, and it could be quite complex.
“I’m just wondering if you could give us an overview of how easy it is to achieve, and how likely it is that we do achieve this.”
Jamie Little, the council’s strategic housing and regeneration team leader, said: “In terms of empty homes, every case is very different.
“More complex cases can take some time and the reasons for properties being empty can also be very complex.
“We’ve often find that we’re dealing with estates, we’re dealing with solicitors, potentially absent owners, and often people who really just need a little bit of support to bring them back into use.
“As a council, we try to identify what support we can put in place to make sure they are brought back into use.
“Clearly capital costs for refurbishment are a significant cost for a lot of owners, particularly if they have inherited a property and want to bring it back into use.
“But we certainly are working very closely with the owners of these properties to try and identify what support they require.”
