More than 300 council homes across Ayrshire lying empty for over six months

dailyrecord.co.uk:

More than 300 council homes in Ayrshire have lain empty for more than six months. Figures released following Freedom of Information requests from the Liberal Democrats revealed that Ayrshire’s three councils have a total of 331 homes which have not been occupied in the last six months.

The problem is worst in North Ayrshire - where 188 council properties have been sitting empty for at least six months.East Ayrshire had 113 vacant properties while South Ayrshire had just 28 council homes which were empty for more than six months.

Last week, East Ayrshire Council's cabinet approved plans for their Strategic Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) which included proposals to build or acquire more than 660 new homes.

Council homes can be empty for a number of reasons including the need for renovation and a lack of demand for the property type.Last year, more than 900 homes across Ayrshire were brought back into use by councils for tenants.That included 919 in North Ayrshire and 13 in South Ayrshire.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.In response to the FOI, East Ayrshire Council said they did not hold information on the number of properties that were brought back into use in 2023-24 but, following an enquiry from Ayrshire Live, they did highlight that 126 homes were currently in the process of being returned to use.Since the request for the data, a number of homes have