Scottish council agrees to suspend lettings policy to tackle homeless crisis
Emergency action has been taken by Edinburgh City Council to suspend its current lettings policy in a bid to tackle the mounting crisis of people experiencing homelessness in the area.
The decision came following a special meeting held by the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee (HHFWC) that resulted in a unanimous agreement by all councillors.
The suspension means that nearly all spaces will now be aimed at people experiencing homelessness, with the exception of those awarded ‘Gold Priority’.
This is awarded when a property does not meet, and cannot be adapted to meet, the needs of the applicant or a member of their household.
This is in addition to people currently in unsuitable temporary accommodation, people awaiting discharge from hospital, or individual high-risk cases.
These exceptional cases, the HHFWC report states, will be “prioritised for direct let through an exceptional management decision”.
The committee found that the council was still housing 970 households in the same conditions as of March this year, despite a reduction from the crisis peak in September 2024, when 1,544 households were in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Of these, 1,083 individuals – including 42 children under 16 and 211 young people – where living in these conditions.
This amounts to a breach of the council’s legislative duties and non-compliance with The Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2022.
An additional breach was found under the Housing Scotland Act 1987 to provide accommodation to anyone assessed as homeless, and in the past 12 months, Edinburgh had failed to accommodate people on 3,263 occasions, representing an increase of 115% on figures from 2023-24.
The suspicion has therefore been agreed until the council is compliant with both pieces of legislation.
As of 31 March 2025, the number of households assessed as homeless in Edinburgh was 7,866, a figure representing 14,219 individuals, including 3,980 children and 2,820 young people (aged 16-25).
As of the same date, the number of households the council was providing temporary accommodation to was 5,426, including 10,400 individuals, of whom 3,155 are children under 16 and 2,000 young people aged 16-25.
Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, welcomed the unprecedented move.
She said: “The decision to suspend the normal letting policy reflects the scale of the crisis and the urgent need to protect the 3,155 children currently stuck in temporary accommodation, as well as to prevent rising levels of rough sleeping.
“This is an emergency response taken in extraordinary circumstances, with nearly three in five homelessness presentations not being provided with temporary accommodation when required.”
As well as pausing the policy and bringing void properties back into use, the city is hoping to make 120 units available for homeless households every month, as well as exploring the purchase of existing private housing.
Shelter Scotland is urging Edinburgh City Council to clarify next steps to ensure people are not trapped in temporary accommodation for years.
The council first revealed plans to review the “fairness” of its social housing allocation system in light of its housing emergency in February 2024.
Lezley Marion Cameron, housing, homelessness and fair work convener at Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh continues to face unprecedented pressures of demand for housing amidst an increasing scarcity of suitable accommodation, ongoing budgetary constraints, and insufficient funding from the Scottish government.
“Despite reintroducing void homes, investing in homeless prevention, and purchasing new and existing properties, the council is struggling to provide sufficient homes suitable to meet people’s housing needs.”
Shelter Scotland had called for the leadership of the Edinburgh Council to be removed in December 2024 in a dispute over its use of unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and a request to relax homelessness laws.
However, the council told Inside Housing at the time that the charity’s press release was “factually incorrect and misleading” and that it has written to the organisation’s director.
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