Delivering Private Rented Services in Edinburgh

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The Role of the Private Rented Sector• Providing privately let homes provides a vital

resource to meet housing demand in the city;

• Edinburgh has the largest market for privately rented homes in Scotland;

• It is an expanding resource and has a critical role to play in Edinburgh’s housing strategy.

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Role of the Council

• To mange the registration of all landlords who operate in the city;

• To implement the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs);

• To provide direct, guidance and support to both landlords and tenants.

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Landlord Registration

• Introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act ,2004;

• Edinburgh has 35,000 registered involving just under 45,000 properties.

• This places the Council at the top of the 32 local authorities in the country.

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Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

• An HMO is a private let which has three or more unrelated people living in the property.

• Licensing is governed by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006;

• Edinburgh has c.6,000 HMOs operating in the city

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Enforcement

• The Council’s aim is to work positively with landlords to achieve safe, secure and high quality accommodation in the city;

• Registration and licensing is a positive means of engaging with landlords;

• The Council, however, has enforcement powers under both Acts to challenge landlords who fall below expected standards.

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Enforcement (2)

• The significant majority of landlords work very effectively and comply fully with expected standards;

• Informal “enforcement” is effective to achieve improvement should there be an identified gap in standards;

• Edinburgh is committed, however, to take action against landlords who consistently fail to comply with the legislation.

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Joint working arrangements

• The city operates a cross – Council service HMO joint inspection team;

• Formal agreement are in place with both the Police and Fire and Rescue Service;

• Officers from both services are seconded into the Private Rented Services Team.

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Ongoing Aims and the Council’s Objectives

• To work consistently to ensure that landlords, tenants and other residents are provided with a first class service from the Council;

• To manage a thriving private letting service in the city;

• To provide homes to many people which supports the Council’s housing strategy’s aims and objectives.