The Scottish government has thrown down the gauntlet to its counterparts in England and Wales over empty property.
In Scotland, landlords are being warned that local authorities are to be given new powers to increase council tax on empty homes in a bid to encourage owners to bring properties out of disrepair and back into use.
The Scottish government says there are abouit 25,000 empty homes across Scotland. As far as the insurance industry is concerned, 'empty' can mean a rental property that has been unlet for a month and insurers refuse to pay up on empty properties in Scotland that are not regularly visited and inspected by their owners or agents.
In England and Wales, there are currently few incentives to bring empty residential property back into use, although the New Homes Bonus will, when it comes in, apply to empty properties.
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