Tag: Housing Emergency Action Plan

Councillors agree next stage of addressing housing emergency

CITY councillors have approved an action plan as they work towards tackling the severe shortage of suitable housing in the capital.

Following the unanimous decision to declare a housing emergency on Thursday 2 November, the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee agreed a report on Tuesday (27 February) which sets out actions to respond to the crisis.

The actions are based on wide engagement with our partner organisations and Councillors, including 14 engagement workshops which helped identify key priorities.

The measures outlined in the Housing Emergency Action Plan are expected to reduce the number of households in Edinburgh without settled accommodation.

They include:

  • Reviewing the Allocation Policy for Council Homes to ensure it continues to enable fair access to housing, including consideration of protected characteristics, such as gender.
  • Improve the standard of repairs and repairs response for Council housing.
  • Ensure all relevant and appropriate partners are included and supported to resolve the housing emergency.
  • Improve the relationship between housing officer and tenant, ensuring local housing staff are visible in their localities and available to meet tenants where and when this is required.

It comes as the Council agreed to introduce a 7% rent rise for tenants over 10 years at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 22 February. In an effort to tackle the city’s housing crisis, the increase could raise around £2bn.

Around 80% of tenants in Edinburgh receive assistance with their rent in the form of housing benefits or Universal Credit. The council intends to extend its Tenant Hardship Fund to support households who aren’t entitled to this support to access funding if they struggle to afford an increase in rent.

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Jane Meagher said: “It’s so important that we take drastic action to protect the most vulnerable people in our city before it’s too late. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has led to a demand for temporary accommodation in Edinburgh which far outstrips supply.

“Having a safe, comfortable home is a basic human right so we’re determined to do everything within our means to put an end to this housing emergency.

“The measures outlined in the Action Plan, along with the 7% rent rise which will allow us to repair, upgrade, and retrofit housing and to build and buy much needed social and affordable housing, go a long way in tackling the crisis. However, the reality is that we can only act within the financial limitations of being the lowest funded local authority in Scotland.

“We need a concerted and co-ordinated response, and my thanks go to our partners who have shown support from the day we declared the housing emergency.  It gives me great confidence that we can work together to improve the situation, but we can’t do it alone.

“We need more support from the Scottish Government to end the crisis once and for all. Their decision to slash nearly £200m from the affordable housing budget comes at a time when we need vital funding now more than ever. I won’t stop fighting for fairer funding.”

Council drive to address Edinburgh’s housing emergency

An initial draft of an action plan has been published by the City of Edinburgh Council as it works towards tackling growing homelessness in the Capital.

After officially declaring a housing emergency earlier this month – in recognition of close to 5,000 households now facing homelessness against a shortage of affordable housing – the beginnings of a 25-point Housing Emergency Action Plan will be considered by the council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on Tuesday (5 December).

The plan proposes the council turns void homes around more quickly and spot purchases ‘off the shelf’ homes, to increase affordable housing supply at pace at a time when construction costs have risen exponentially. If agreed, a more detailed strategy featuring costings and specific targets will be created and brought to a full council meeting in February, with input from industry and voluntary organisations from across the city.

It comes as Glasgow City Council follows suit and formally declared a Housing Emergency yesterday (Thursday 30 November).

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “We’re truly at a point where urgent, united action must be taken to do right by the most vulnerable in our city.

“Thousands of people in Edinburgh are finding themselves with their lives on hold as they live through the hugely stressful reality of losing their home.

“Every night, close to 5,000 households are now sleeping in temporary accommodation in this city, wondering when and indeed if they will receive the security of a permanent place to live.

“Having a home is a basic human right and by highlighting the issue we’re determined to do everything within our means to address it.

“We’ve seen an outpouring of support from the third sector and industry which gives me great confidence that we can work together to improve the situation and clearly Glasgow is in a similar position. We need to address this issue as a city and nationally at all levels of council and government.

“Despite our success with our partners building close to 7,000 new affordable homes since 2017/18 and having almost 2,000 under construction right now, plus very positive work with the third sector in preventing homelessness, the cost of living crisis means that demand for affordable housing is far outstripping supply.

“The added pressure of rising construction costs and reduced budgets mean we need to think differently. I hope this action plan forms the basis of what will become a wider city plan.”

The Homeless Action Plan will be considered by Committee alongside a series of housing reports which draw attention to the scale of Edinburgh’s housing challenges and opportunities to create more housing, if the funding required to achieve significant change is found.

The Strategy for Purchasing Land and Homes to Meet Affordable Housing Need demonstrates the success the Council has had delivering new homes despite challenging market conditions, which includes the delivery of 1,425 new Council homes and a further 508 currently under construction.

This has been possible through creative working, including for example the council purchasing the old Liberton Hospital site directly from NHS Lothian.

The annual Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) reveals a pipeline of over 11,000 new affordable and social homes could be possible through partnership working in Edinburgh over the next five years, but that would require Scottish Government grant funding of almost £900 million (based on current market costs), or almost four times Edinburgh’s current grant funding allocation for affordable housebuilding.

Further work will take place with Registered Social Landlord partners to understand the impact of the housing emergency to them and tenants, to work together to achieve next steps.