The results will be announced during the 12th Scottish Empty Homes Conference on 1 March 2023 at The Engine Shed, Stirling, with the theme Repair, Reuse, Revitalise. The awards will celebrate the important work conducted over the last year to bring empty homes back into use.  

The award category which is expected to be the most sought after is “the best use of empty homes work to create social/affordable housing”, which is a new category that reflects the growing number of innovative empty homes projects to boost much-needed housing supply. 

With 130,000 households on waiting lists for social homes in Scotland, it is vitally important that more empty homes be brought back into use to address this issue. 

The full list of the award categories are:  

• Best use of empty homes work to create social/affordable housing: For strong contribution to increasing supply of social/affordable housing.
• Best retrofit of an empty home: For an excellent environmentally friendly improvement to an empty home.
• Best use of data to inform empty homes practice: For outstanding examples of using information to get results.
• Empty Homes rising star: For a newer officer making a positive impact on empty homes work.

Last year, the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership awarded the Best Long-term restoration project to Moniaive Initiative & South of Scotland Community Housing. Here a property called Sawmill Green had been lying empty for 13 years and was transformed into a fully accessible amenity home using the Rural Housing Fund 

If you’re involved in the Scottish housing sector you can let the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership know who to consider by following the link for entering nominations here: https://emptyhomespartnership.scot/awards/. 

The conference will feature great guest speakers such as John Kerr, Housing Development & Homelessness Manager at West Dunbartonshire Council and Chris Morgan from John Gilbert Architects.  

Tickets are still available for both online and in person and there are discounts available for multiple bookings of 5 delegates or more. Tickets can be bought here: https://emptyhomespartnership.scot/conference-2023/.

The conference will feature great guest speakers such as John Kerr, Housing Development & Homelessness Manager at West Dunbartonshire Council and Chris Morgan from John Gilbert Architects. Probate genealogy firm Finders International has just been confirmed as gold sponsor for the conference, with Auction House Scotland as silver sponsor.