The fund sits within a wider programme of action outlined to members of The Highland Council on Thursday 14 May, as part of a progress report on tackling the Highland Housing Challenge, which was declared in June 2024.

There are currently 2,466 long-term empty properties in Highland, with 41% vacant for more than three years.

Grants of up to £30,000 in rural areas, and up to £25,000 in urban areas, will be available to eligible applicants. In return, properties must be brought back into use and either let at affordable mid-market rent or occupied as the owner’s main residence for a minimum of five years. To qualify, properties must have been empty for at least 12 months.

The Empty Homes Challenge Fund is one of several measures being taken forward by the council to tackle the housing challenge. It is estimated 24,000 new homes are needed by 2035 to meet housing demand and support people to live, work, and stay in the Highlands.  There is a need for housing across all tenures, including properties for social rent, private rent and properties to buy.   

Alongside bringing existing homes back into use, the council is pursuing a range of innovative solutions to increase housing supply. This includes coordinated actions to unlock investment, increase land supply, speed up planning processes, and build delivery capacity and confidence across the public and private sectors.

Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Bill Lobban, said: “There is no single solution to the Highland Housing Challenge. That is why we are taking a series of practical, coordinated actions - from bringing empty homes back into use to creating mechanisms that speed up development, and identifying land. The availability of local housing for people to live and work in the region is critical to the future sustainability of our communities and the wider socio-economic transformation of our region.”

Leader of the Highland Council, Councillor Raymond Bremner, said: “The council is investing £1 million in an Empty Homes Challenge Fund, aimed at increasing the availability of affordable housing while supporting rural regeneration. Empty homes are a real challenge for Highland, which has more long-term empty homes than any other local authority in Scotland. This fund will build on our Empty Homes Strategy by offering practical support to owners to help them bring properties back into everyday use.”

Applications for the Empty Homes Challenge Fund will open on the Highland Council website when the fund goes live at the end of May.