Region higher than average for second homes

SECOND homes and short term lets make up 3.72 per cent of all housing in Dumfries and Galloway.

And the Dumfries and Galloway Green party has pointed out this is above the national Scottish average of 1.8 per cent.

As such, they want tax increased to make it harder for individuals to ‘hoard’ homes.

Spokesperson Laura Moodie says the move is ‘crucial’ to tackle the region’s housing crisis.

She lives in the Dee and Glenkens ward and has noted young people forced to leave the communities due to housing shortages and high house prices caused by second homes and holiday lets.

Laura said: “Scotland is in a housing crisis. Everyone in Parliament agrees on this.

“The fact that we have more than twice as many second homes and holiday lets in Dumfries and Galloway as the national average is a major reason why this crisis is so much worse locally. Wealthy people buying up properties they won’t live in are pushing out young families in particular.

“These houses either lie empty for most of the year as holiday homes, or they are hoarded by landlords making a fortune from Airbnb-style short term lets. Either way, it’s first-time buyers and low-income long-term renters who are pushed out by those with much more financial muscle.”

And she described the current Housing Bill as a watershed moment in the Scottish Parliament as it will deliver controls on rent increases and new rights and protections for renters.

But she wants it to ‘go further to tackle the vast inequality gap that we see between the rich and the vulnerable in Dumfries and Galloway’.