At a time of great housing pressure, every home matters. Empty homes are a wasted resource that could be brought back into use as warm safe housing that meets peoples’ needs.
A long-term empty home is classed as a privately-owned, residential property that has been vacant for 6 months or more.
Empty homes can be a burden for owners and neighbours. In some cases, they can be a nuisance for neighbours and can attract antisocial behaviour, vandalism and fly tipping.
By bringing your home back into use you could:
Fife Council’s Empty Homes service has been in operation since 2014. The service offers owners and neighbours advice and assistance to bring long-term empty homes back into use.
Many properties are empty for legitimate reasons. We understand that renovations, sales, or inheriting a property can take time. If the property gets ‘stuck’, we can:
There are various options available, including:
Our Empty Homes Officer will be happy to discuss the available options to help bring your property back into use.
If your property has been unoccupied for 12 months or more, a surcharge of 100% may be added to your council tax. This means your council tax charge could be 200%.
Calculate how much your empty home is costing you using our Empty Homes Cost Calculator