Edinburgh calls on short-term lets to tackle homelessness

Edinburgh City Council has called on the local short-term lets to help it tackle homelessness in the city long-term.

Under the latest Scottish Government lockdown restrictions, holiday lets with shared facilities – including communal entrances, stairs and landings – are not allowed to re-open.

Instead landlords are being asked to consider moving properties back into residential use or renting their properties to the local authority.

The call comes with a warning from the local authority that enforcement action will be taken against landlords who break the Scottish Government’s rules or re-open in a later phase without permission to operate, as part of the council’s continued efforts to clamp down on unregulated properties

‘I want to see us work with rather than against landlords to make the rental market fairer on everybody who lives here,’ said council leader, Cllr Adam McVey.

‘As we recover from this pandemic, we have a real opportunity to work together. We can jointly support our City’s most vulnerable residents AND return properties to their rightful purpose as homes.

‘During lockdown, with our partners, we’ve successfully brought a number of short-term let properties back into residential use to help us house people experiencing homelessness,’ added Cllr McVey.

‘This has been really positive for all involved and we need to continue to build on this going forward. We face a huge challenge housing people who need it, and we’re saying strongly and clearly that landlords running short-term lets from residentials without permission should stop and move their property back into residential use. This can be part of the solution.

‘However, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease, we also need to be clear that we will take action if required. With the health risks associated with Covid-19 it is absolutely vital that all forms of accommodation are properly managed and that those with shared facilities remain closed following government guidance. We welcome this decision and short-term let operators who fail to comply with these regulations or operate without permission should be aware that it will be a priority for us to take any enforcement action available to us,’ he added.

Photo Credit – Tama66 (Pixabay)