The combined total of new houses completed by all sectors of the Borders construction industry in 2017 fell to its lowest level since official records began in 1996 with just 189 homes delivered.
That statistic from the Scottish Government's latest set of figures will be cold comfort for thousands of applicants classed as homeless or waiting on housing lists held by the region's four Registered Social Landlords [RSLs].
To set the 189 figure in context, new house totals for the region back in 1996 added up to 531 with 870 completions in 2002 and 740 in 2007. Other annual new build totals included 462 in 2015 and 325 in 2016.
Last August we reported that the number of applicants on the housing lists of the four Borders-based social landlords currently exceeded the overall total of tenancies available in the region, according to information published by the Scottish Housing Regulator.
Annual returns from Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA), Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA), Eildon Housing Association and Waverley Housing Association showed there were 12,084 applicants on their combined lists with 6,039 new applications received during 2017/18. The four organisations own 11,212 houses for rent between them. But the actual total waiting for homes will be less than 12,084 as some of the applications will be duplicated across the Borders RSLs.
Meanwhile separate figures published by the Border Telegraph newspaper showed there had been 3,826 statutory homelessness cases over a six year period. In 2017/18 700 households were assessed under homelessness legislation with 590 of them considered to be homeless or threatened with homelessness, the highest number since records began.
A breakdown of the new build completions shows Borders housing associations finished just 16 houses in 2017 against a figure of 90 in 2016 and 115 in 2016. Back in the year 2000 there were 100 new homes completed by the associations.
The Government statistics also reveal an increasing trend in the number of long-term (more than six months) empty properties in the Scottish Borders. The regional total of 1,469 in 2018 is significantly higher than the 2017 figure of 1,419. The vacant property totals for 2015 and 2016 were 1,362 and 1,379 respectively.
However, the gradual withdrawal of council tax discounts on so-called second homes appears to be already having an impact in the Borders.
According to the new data there were 945 second homes across the region in 2018 compared to 1,275 in 2015 and 2,167 in 2005.
The notes accompanying the figures explain: "Second Homes: homes which are furnished and lived in for at least 25 days in a 12 month period but not as someone’s main residence. They are entitled to a council tax discount of between 10% and 50%. In 2015/16, all local authorities had opted for a 10% discount on second homes. As of April 2017, local authorities had the option to remove the council tax discount on second homes."
"Long Term Empty Properties: properties which have been empty for more than 6 months and are liable for council tax. This includes properties empty for 12 months or more and which may be subject to an additional levy of up to 100% according to local authority policy."
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