Second homes numbers in Western Isles falling slower than expected

The number of second homes in the Western Isles has fallen more slowly than expected following the introduction of a 200% council tax rate on the properties, a councillor has said.

Local authorities can charge higher rates on long-term empty properties to help them increase housing availability by encouraging more homes to be used as permanent residences.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - which has Scotland's highest proportion of second homes - raised its council tax rate to 200% in April 2024, and since then the number of properties has fallen by 7%.

Convener Kenny Macleod said while the fall was "good news" the comhairle had anticipated numbers to have "dropped by more".

Macleod said the comhairle took "no pleasure" in raising council tax.

"But we as a local authority are seeing the difficulties people have in trying to buy properties throughout the Western Isles," he said.

The number of second and empty properties have fallen from 896 to 834 over the last two years.

Macleod said: "Numbers have dropped. We thought they might have dropped by more."

He added: "We are seeing the same trend in other parts of Scotland. It hasn't fallen as much as people had expected."

The comhairle predicts it will have generated £3m in extra income by March through the higher charge on second homes.

A report published two years ago claimed teenagers were worried there was no future for them on Scotland's islands due to a lack of housing.

A survey of 12 to 25-year-olds by Young Islanders Network (YIN) suggested 62% of respondents plan to leave their island homes when they were older because of a shortage of suitable accommodation.

Just 9% said they believed buying a home where they lived was affordable.