Council tenants urged to have say on Edinburgh housing budget

The City of Edinburgh Council is encouraging its housing tenants to take part in their year’s housing rent consultation to help influence how the Council spends the money it raises from rental income.

The Council is seeking views over the next 12 weeks on how to spend the money collected on housing services, investing in neighbourhoods and on new homes for communities across the city.

A rent consultation is carried out every year and the feedback shapes the commitments set out in the investment plan, including delivering more homes, improving the quality of homes, and providing better services and communities.

Cllr Kate Campbell, housing, homelessness and fair work convener, said: ‘Every year we speak to our tenants so that we know what their priorities are. And then we invest the housing budget in the areas tenants tell us are important to them. We always work with a volunteer group of tenants who help us to design the survey. They help us shape everything from the information we provide, the wording of the questions and the design of the survey.

‘We know that everyone will have different priorities, that’s why we want as many views and as much feedback as possible – so that we have a proper insight into what matters most to our tenants, and the areas that most need improvement. So please – if you’re a council tenant – tell us what you think by taking part in the consultation, so we can set investment priorities and a budget that makes the quality of life for all our tenants better.’

Cllr Mandy Watt, housing, homelessness and fair work vice convener, added: ‘It’s so important that we get the views of our tenants so we can focus on what they want.

‘There is a critical balance to strike. We want to keep rents low and affordable while also be able to invest long term in our properties to keep them up to a good standard by repairing and managing them for tenants. We are also given some strict guidelines on investing in social housing from the government which we have to follow.’

Council tenants have until 8 December to take the survey, which asks about value for money on the rent they pay, potential increases in rent in order to be able to meet future commitments and investment plans and where investment should be prioritised.

More information on the consultation and access to the survey can be found here.

In related news, new arrangements have been set out between Milton Keynes Council and its housing repairs and maintenance contractor to deliver better and faster repairs, including speeding up how quickly an empty property can be turned around for the next tenant.

Photo by Jure Tufekcic