Why we are engaging with City of Edinburgh Council (City of Edinburgh)
We are engaging with City of Edinburgh about its services for people who are homeless, service quality, stock quality and tenant and resident safety.
The context in which local authorities are delivering services to people who are experiencing homelessness has become increasingly challenging in the last few years. In our December 2023 update to our thematic report on homelessness services in Scotland we set out that there is systemic failure impacting the delivery of some local authorities’ services to people experiencing homelessness. By this we mean that the demands on some local authorities now exceed their capacity to respond. This remains the case at City of Edinburgh.
City of Edinburgh does not always provide temporary accommodation to those who need it. Scottish Government data show that in 2024/25, there were 3,245 instances where City of Edinburgh did not provide temporary accommodation when it should have and was regularly breaching the Unsuitable Accommodation Order (UAO). For the six months to September 2025, the latest Scottish Government data shows 3,585 instances where temporary accommodation was not provided and continuing breaches of the UAO.
City of Edinburgh has been progressing an action plan since 2023 which aims to improve the performance and outcomes of the housing system in Edinburgh, including the homelessness service. In June 2025, the plan was refreshed following additional consultation with stakeholders, and the actions were restructured to focus on housing supply and housing demand. This includes continuing to work closely with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) to increase the number of permanent homes provided to people experiencing homelessness. As part of the plan, City of Edinburgh has told us that it is continuing to increase its temporary and permanent accommodation provision and is strengthening homelessness prevention activities.
In April 2025, City of Edinburgh suspended its Allocations Policy. Since then, City of Edinburgh’s empty homes have only been allocated permanently to homeless households, to households with the most urgent housing needs or used as temporary accommodation for homeless households. The Allocations Policy will remain suspended until March 2027, by which point City of Edinburgh expects no further instances of failing to offer suitable temporary accommodation and to be able to consistently offer temporary accommodation to those who need it.
We will continue to monitor, assess and report on City of Edinburgh’s performance in discharging its duties to people who are homeless, and we will engage with the local authority to promote improvement where this is possible.
We are ready to work with the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh itself and other stakeholders to identify and implement actions that will address the systemic issues affecting the delivery of homelessness services at City of Edinburgh.
During 2025/26, we reviewed and compared the data for all local authorities from the Scottish Government’s national homelessness statistics. We also spoke to all local authorities to gather further information and assurance about their homelessness services.
In 2026/27, we will engage with City of Edinburgh about its provision of temporary accommodation to people who are homeless.
To assess the risk to social landlords we have reviewed and compared the 2024/25 service quality performance of all social landlords. We will engage with City of Edinburgh because its level of rent arrears is one of the highest of all social landlords. City of Edinburgh has told us that it is aware of its performance and is working to address this.
City of Edinburgh has identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) affecting 54 of its homes and is investigating whether any of its other homes contain RAAC. We are seeking assurance that City of Edinburgh has a long-term strategy to manage the RAAC in its homes.
In late 2024, City of Edinburgh commissioned an independent building condition survey of Westfield Court, a mixed tenure residential block in which City of Edinburgh is a minority owner and acts as the property factor.
The survey was commissioned due to concerns about major parts of the block showing signs of failure, including the communal heating system that serves the entire building, the roof and all mechanical services including soil stacks and where investment was deemed necessary for the building to remain viable. The condition survey was issued to all owners in June 2025 and described significant issues with the condition of the block, some of which are serious tenant and resident safety concerns. This includes the poor condition of around 10% of the external concrete cladding panels and parts of the main concrete structure that supports these. City of Edinburgh has commissioned independent quarterly inspections of the cladding to monitor the condition of these panels until such time as the owners in the block decide how to proceed.
Additionally, some soil stacks, which are located within largely inaccessible service risers, are beyond repair and causing uncontainable leaks, and so City of Edinburgh has decanted affected tenants. City of Edinburgh has told us that it will continue to monitor the condition of the soil stacks in the block and are regularly attending to carry out temporary repairs, wherever possible.
City of Edinburgh is continuing to engage with all Westfield Court residents to discuss the options available for the block.
A significant number of City of Edinburgh’s tenants’ homes do not fully comply with electrical safety requirements, which came into force in early 2022 and form part of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. City of Edinburgh is progressing inspections to provide Electrical Installation Condition Reports in all of its tenants’ homes.
We will continue to engage with City of Edinburgh to monitor its progress in completing this outstanding work as quickly as possible and maintaining future compliance.
City of Edinburgh has not always complied with its gas safety duties across a small number of tenants’ homes. In January 2025, City of Edinburgh provided us with a plan setting out how it will ensure compliance with these duties. City of Edinburgh has now completed the actions within the plan, including implementing changes to its procedures. As a result, it has reduced the number of checks it does not complete within the statutory timescale. We will continue to engage with City of Edinburgh about the steps it will take to ensure it is complying fully with its gas safety duties.
What City of Edinburgh must do
City of Edinburgh must:
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send us the information we require in relation to its homelessness service;
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continue best efforts to meet its statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation when it should and to comply with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
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aim to have no further instances of failing to offer suitable temporary accommodation by March 2027;
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keep us updated on its capacity to meet its statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation when it should and to comply with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
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improve its rent arrears performance and tell us when it has delivered the necessary improvements;
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conclude its investigation into the extent of RAAC in its homes as quickly as possible and confirm the outcome to us;
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keep us updated on how it is managing the risks associated with RAAC and its long-term strategy to manage the RAAC;
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send us monthly updates on its progress to address the issues at Westfield Court;
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send us the findings of each quarterly inspection of the cladding at Westfield Court;
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complete the outstanding electrical safety work as quickly as possible;
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send us monthly updates on progress on achieving compliance with electrical safety requirements. Each update should include the latest projected timescale for achieving full compliance; and
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comply with its statutory gas safety duties and send us monthly updates on its progress to ensure compliance.
What we will do
We will:
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review the information City of Edinburgh provides about its homelessness service and engage as necessary;
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meet with City of Edinburgh on a monthly basis to discuss its homelessness service, and in particular seek assurance about its best efforts to provide suitable temporary accommodation, and engage as necessary;
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review the information that City of Edinburgh provides about its improvements to its rent arrears performance and engage as necessary;
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review the updates City of Edinburgh provides about RAAC in its homes and engage as necessary;
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review the monthly updates on progress to address the issues at Westfield Court and engage as necessary;
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review the findings from the quarterly inspections of the cladding at Westfield Court and engage as necessary;
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review City of Edinburgh’s progress with its plan to achieve and maintain compliance with electrical safety requirements and engage as necessary;
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monitor City of Edinburgh’s progress to ensure compliance with its gas safety duties and engage as necessary; and
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update our published engagement plan in the light of any material change to our planned engagement with City of Edinburgh.
Regulatory Returns
City of Edinburgh must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns:
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Annual Assurance Statement; and
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Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.