Today, Living Rent Leith branch sent an open letter to the City of Edinburgh council to demand more be done to stop rogue landlords and protect tenants against dangerous living conditions, illegal evictions and threatening behaviour. The letter was signed by over 20 key community organisations including trade unions, charities and community councils. 

Read it here.

Dear Cllr Jane Meagher, Cllr Tim Pogson and Cllr Andrew Mitchell,

We, the undersigned, represent a coalition of trade unions, charities, and community groups who stand in solidarity with Scotland’s tenants. We write to you with a clear and urgent message: you must do more to clamp down on rogue landlords who continue to flout basic rules and break the laws that are supposed to govern renting.

Edinburgh’s landlords are benefitting from a lack of oversight from the council and the most vulnerable people in the city are being hit hard by the consequences.

The council already has the power to hold to account landlords that violate the laws. Despite this, it routinely fails to impose meaningful consequences on even the worst offenders. 

As a result, many of our members have been left to defend themselves against disrepair, safety hazards, threats and illegal eviction, all while their rents continue to skyrocket. Living Rent’s recent report, Letting Landlords off the Hook, lays out in stark detail the council’s failure to uphold its core responsibilities.

As a result of this we are calling on the council to make improvements which will transform the lives of thousands of private renters in Edinburgh, and set a precedent for councils across the country. 

1. Funding and resourcing

Properly resource the Private Rented Sector (PRS) enforcement team so that the council is able  to clamp down on landlords who break the rules.

2. Transparency and accountability

Ensure transparency of the council’s PRS enforcement work, including capturing and

reporting information on complaints, enforcement activity, and how they apply the ‘fit and proper person’ test to landlord registration.

3. Proactive enforcement

Use their existing powers, including those that are statutory duties, to support tenants and tackle rogue landlords. They must also strengthen the due diligence checks that they conduct for landlord registration and ensure tenants are able to access support.

4. Don’t punish tenants for landlords’ failures

Ensure tenants are protected from retaliatory evictions or other adverse impacts in cases where enforcement action has been taken against their landlords, such as being struck off the register.

5. Council procurement

The council should not be handing lucrative contracts for housing to landlords that have relevant criminal or tribunal convictions - due diligence must be applied transparently and rigorously.

We, the undersigned, demand you act now to protect the tenants of Edinburgh from homelessness, insecurity and the dangers imposed by rogue landlords. We call upon the council to carry out their statutory responsibilities and use their existing powers fully to support their constituents and the city’s communities.

Phill Pearce, Education Institute of Scotland (EIS), Edinburgh President, says:

"More needs to be done to protect the children in our city who live their lives in accommodation that is in disrepair, containing safety hazards and under the constant threat of skyrocketing rents and forced evictions. Such conditions have a highly deleterious effect on the health, wellbeing and educational outcomes of our pupils which we see as teachers day in day out.

 

It is grossly unfair that the children of parents and carers that work hard to maintain a roof over their heads should suffer when there are already powers and statutory duties available to City of Edinburgh council to help protect tenants and their families from rogue landlords, unsafe living conditions and homelessness.

 

We call on the City of Edinburgh council to act...so that all of Edinburgh’s children get a fair chance to flourish."

Florence Oulds, Scottish Trans, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, says:

“Trans people are often excluded from renting or kicked out of our homes because of who we are. We need clear standards on things like proof of identity, and easier ways for housing discrimination to be dealt with.”

Teresa Sutherland, Community Help and Advice Initiative (CHAI), Chief Executive Officer, says:

“We support this campaign because we have come across many cases where private renters are forced to live with serious disrepair while landlords refuse to take responsibility and in some instances even harass or threaten their tenants. Everyone deserves a safe home.”

Amy Hutton, Cyrenians, Director of Services, says: 

“Landlords routinely failing to uphold their legal responsibilities is a significant cause of homelessness. It is vital that this ends and we are pleased to join Living Rent’s call for greater scrutiny of the bad actors within the private rental sector that undermine the safety of Edinburgh’s tenants.”

Signed,

Georgia Dodsworth, Living Rent Leith Chair,

Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) Edinburgh,

UNITE NFP,

UNITE City of Edinburgh Council Branch,

University and College Union Edinburgh,

Shelter Scotland,

Scottish Trans,

Cyrenians,

Equality Network,

Community Help and Advice Initiative (CHAI) Edinburgh,

Community One Stop Shop (COSS)  Edinburgh,

Edible Estates,

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty,

Leith Links Community Council

Making Rights Real,

St James’ Episcopal Church,

Community Alliance Trust,

Northfield and Willobrae Community Council,

Southside Community Council,

Leith Central Community Council

Porty Community Energy,

Greendykes Residents Association,

Merchiston Districts Community Council.