This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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2001 Post Census Vacant Survey
07/05/2004
Results of the 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey are
published today.
The survey was based on a 4 per cent sample of household
spaces identified in the 2001 Census as being vacant, with
local authorities being offered the option to boost their
sample to 10 per cent.
The
results
are being initially released as tables in the data library
section of the housing statistics branch website.
The tables present preliminary findings on the
characteristics of vacant household spaces, including
ownership, reasons for vacancy and length of vacancy.
Key data are shown at local authority and Scotland
levels. These findings are set in the context of falling
vacancy rates over the past two decades: the 2001 Census
found a vacancy rate of 3.8 per cent for household spaces,
while the equivalent rates from the 1991 and 1981 Censuses
were 4.6 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively.
Main points from the 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey
- Ownership of vacant household spaces: The
estimated vacancy rate was somewhat higher for the
social sector (5 per cent) compared to the private
sector (3 per cent).
- Main reasons for vacancy: Among vacant household
spaces where the reason for vacancy was known, 41 per
cent were for rent or awaiting occupation following
letting, 24 per cent were for sale or awaiting
occupation following sale, 18 per cent were awaiting
occupation following completion or improvement, and 10
per cent were derelict or awaiting demolition.
- Length of vacancy: Over half of vacants (57 per
cent) had been unoccupied for less than 6 months, while
18 per cent had been unoccupied for a year or
more.
- Vacancy rate by building type: The highest vacancy
rate in the survey was observed for flats (6 per cent).
Next were detached and terraced houses with vacancy
rates of 3 per cent each. Linked to this, vacant
household spaces in the survey were more likely to be
above ground-floor level than those identified as
occupied in the Census (39 per cent of vacants had
their lowest floor level on the first floor or higher,
compared with 23 per cent for occupied household
spaces).
- Size of vacant household spaces: On the whole,
vacant household spaces tended to have less rooms than
those identified as occupied in the Census (31 per cent
of vacants had three rooms or less, compared to 20 per
cent of occupied spaces).
The 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey was a voluntary
survey conducted by the General Register Office for
Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Executive Development
Department and based on a 4 per cent sample of household
spaces identified as being vacant in the 2001 Census. The
main aim of the survey was to obtain more information about
the characteristics of vacants, and councils were offered
the option of boosting the sample in their area to 10 per
cent to provide better estimates at a local level.
Percentages from the 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey are
reported here to the nearest 1 per cent. It is important to
note that the findings are based on a sample survey with an
achieved sample size of approximately 3,600, and should
therefore be considered as estimates rather than actual
counts. In addition, given the relatively small size of the
sample, results for small areas or subgroups may be subject
to substantial variability due to random sampling
error.
The 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey was a survey of
household spaces rather than properties, a 'household
space' being defined in the 2001 Census as 'the
accommodation available for an individual household'. A
household space may define a dwelling if rooms are not
shared with another household. In the 2001 Census,
households in shared dwellings constituted less than 0.1
per cent of all households. Therefore the vacancy rate for
household spaces is a close approximation of the vacancy
rate for dwellings.
For the 2001 Post Census Vacant Survey, the number of
rooms in a household space included all rooms apart from
bathrooms, toilets, halls or landings, or rooms which can
only be used for storage.
The findings from the
2001
Post Census Vacant Survey are being initially released
as tables in the data library section of the housing
statistics branch website. A fuller analysis will be made
available in due course.