Tag: social housing

Edinburgh exceeds affordable housing target

COUNCIL ‘MAKING REAL INROADS’

There have been almost 1,500 new affordable homes completed by the Council and its housing association partners in the last financial year – the most completions delivered in a single year since the Affordable Housing Supply Programme began.

In 2025/26 1473 houses were completed or purchased for use, beating the target of 1,368, while 994 homes were approved for construction. Work also started at 1,004 sites.

Almost £74m was spent on affordable housing in the last financial year, surpassing the previous high figure of £55m spent in a single financial year since the programme was introduced in 2007.

In February the Council agreed a record £1.6 billion investment in affordable homes and improved temporary accommodation as part of the Budget.

Spending will help address the city’s housing emergency by significantly increasing the supply of housing for those in need.

Councillor Tim Pogson, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “These figures are extremely encouraging, and demonstrate the progress being made towards meeting the huge demand for housing in Edinburgh.

“An enormous amount of planning and collaboration goes into delivering homes on this scale, so I’d like to thank officers and partners for coming together to achieve this.

“Of course, the Capital is still under significant pressure, with many living with housing need. However, I’m confident that with smart investment and partnership working we’ll continue to make real inroads into tackling these issues.”

Members of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee will be updated on progress on Tuesday, 12 May.

This includes 170 approvals, 140 site starts and 329 completions delivered through schemes that required little or no grant funding. Amongst these are the Scottish Government’s Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE), other forms of low-cost home ownership, mid-market rent and private sector led Build to Rent (BTR).

Site completions also encompass homes that were purchased using £28.685m of National Acquisition Programme funding for 2025/26. This allowed the purchase of 341 homes to alleviate temporary accommodation pressures.

Read more in the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Business Bulletin.

Edinburgh Tenants Federation visits Newcastle City Council

Volunteers and staff from Edinburgh Tenants Federation (ETF) recently visited Newcastle City Council to meet with teams across the local authority and learn more about how tenants can be at the heart of housing decision-making.

During the visit, ETF met with staff from Newcastle City Council’s Housing Services, Safe Living, and Customer Insight and Engagement teams. Discussions focused on sharing processes in scrutiny groups, running tenants’ and residents’ groups, and improving communication between tenants and the council.

Tenants from both cities had the opportunity to exchange ideas, and share best practice around engagement strategies, and their experiences as council tenants in Edinburgh and Newcastle. These conversations highlighted common challenges as well as ideas for innovative approaches to tenant involvement.

The group also attended several estate walkabouts, where tenants and council staff were able to share examples of good practice and discuss how strong communities can be supported and developed.

Betty Stone, Convenor of Edinburgh Tenants Federation, said: “Tenants should get involved in their council’s engagement programmes to ensure their voices are heard. Having a space to be listened to is so important, especially when it comes to housing, which is a basic need and should always be delivered to a high standard.

“It’s been fascinating to compare the experiences of Newcastle City Council tenants with those of tenants in Edinburgh. One of the strongest themes from our discussions was the shared desire for tenants to be included and heard in shaping services across the sector.”

Edinburgh Tenants Federation membership is free. If you’d like to learn more about our work or to get involved, please get in touch at info@edinburghtenants.org.uk.

Right to Buy overhaul to safeguard social housing in England

UK government has confirmed it will bring forward further reforms to Right to Buy

The Westminster government has today (Tuesday 28 April) confirmed it will bring forward further reforms to Right to Buy.

Right to Buy is a government scheme allowing eligible council tenants in England to buy their home at a discount.  

Last year the government published its consultation response to overhaul Right to Buy that will support councils to better protect and rebuild depleted housing stock while maintaining a responsible route into homeownership for longstanding tenants.  

New reforms to be brought forward will include: 

  • Increasing the minimum eligibility period from three to ten years before tenants can apply to buy their home.  
  • Amending discount rules so that discounts start at 5% of the property value and increase by 1% each year up to the maximum discount of 15% of the property value or the cash cap (whichever is lower).  
  • A 35-year new build exemption period so new social homes cannot be sold under Right to Buy for 35 years after they are built.  

Since the consultation, the government has also been undertaking further policy development and analysis to explore more effective fraud prevention to mitigate vulnerable tenants being pressured into buying and reviewing how the Right to Buy scheme applies in rural areas.

The government has already taken steps to give councils more confidence to ramp up the delivery of new social homes, including reducing maximum cash discounts to £16,000 – £38,000 depending on the area. Councils can also retain all of the receipts from sales and combine those receipts with grant funding to build and buy more homes. 

The ‘cost floor’ protection has been extended from 15 to 30 years, meaning landlords can limit discounts so that the sale price does not fall below the amount spent on building, repairing and maintaining the properties. The government has been exploring further reforms to the cost floor to better protect council investment in existing homes. 

The changes will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Gavin Smart, CEO, Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “CIH welcomes the government’s continued focus on reforming Right to Buy and the clear recognition that change is needed to better protect and rebuild our social housing. The measures confirmed today are a positive step towards addressing the long-standing imbalance between homes sold and those replaced.

“We also welcome the further work on fraud prevention and the scheme’s impact in rural areas, both of which are crucial to ensuring Right to Buy operates fairly and sustainably.”

Council steps up action to bring empty homes back into use

COUNCILLORS APPROVE NEW FIVE-YEAR EMPTY HOMES STRATEGY

The City of Edinburgh Council has made ‘strong progress’ over the past year in bringing empty homes back into use, as councillors approved a new five-year Empty Homes Strategy yesterday.

In the last year, 81 privately owned empty properties have been brought back into use bringing the total since 2023 to 149.

Edinburgh declared a housing emergency in November 2023 in response to challenges including rising homelessness, an acute shortage of social housing and growing pressure on temporary accommodation.

Bringing empty homes back into use is a key action within the Council’s Housing Emergency Action Plan, with a focus on supporting homeless households.

Following the recruitment of two additional Empty Homes Officers and a Housing Development Officer the team has increased efforts to identify properties earlier, work directly with owners and secure quicker routes to bring homes back into use.

Progress includes offering advice to owners of properties that have been empty for close to twelve months, participating in the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership matchmaker scheme and developing proposals for a new grant scheme linked to the Council’s Private Sector Leasing programme that would help owners make empty homes lettable, which would increase the supply of temporary accommodation available in the city.

Councillors approved the Empty Homes Strategy and Annual Report at Tuesday’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee which sets out how the Council will accelerate work over the next five years.

The strategy focuses on earlier identification of empty homes, targeted support for owners and the use of legal powers where appropriate to bring homes back into use.

Cllr Tim Pogson, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “We’re committed to addressing the issue of empty homes across the city, to make sure that more properties are brought back into use and contribute to our housing stock.

“There are a variety of reasons why properties become empty, from legal and financial issues to personal circumstances and market dynamics. Our Empty Homes Team focuses on advising owners about their options, including selling their property or becoming a private landlord, helping to make more homes available to buyers and renters.

“With 149 homes made available since 2023 it’s great that people and families now have homes they would otherwise not have had, but there is still much more to do. We estimate there are over 3,000 empty homes in the city, with around 2,500 empty for more than twelve months.

“That is why we will continue to build on what has already been a very successful approach and encourage owners of empty homes to contact the Council for support to bring their property back into use.”

Social housing conditions barely improved since pandemic, says Westminster Committee

SCATHING REPORT ON THE STATE OF ENGLAND’s SOCIAL HOUSING

Raising the standard of social homes in England is essential given the progress at bringing homes up to a minimum standard has almost ground to a halt, says the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee in a report published today (Monday).

While most social homes provide tenants with warm, safe and decent places to live, the report finds that too many people living in social housing suffer from appalling housing conditions and do not have their complaints treated seriously. 

The report notes that the minimum standard of what is considered a decent home has not changed in twenty years and says, “it is not acceptable that just under 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even this basic standard”.

The Committee’s Housing conditions in the social rented sector report calls for the Government to use the delayed Long-term Housing Strategy to deliver an approach which addresses the twin objectives of building more social homes while ensuring conditions in existing housing stock are improved.

The report recommends the Government establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme that supports social landlords to raise the standard of social homes, which includes a pooled fund for improvements to social homes and a single housing quality framework to consolidate the regulatory requirements on social landlords.

Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said: “Whether it is residents living in poorly insulated homes, experiencing overcrowding, or enduring housing with damp or mould, it’s vital that Government measures, including Awaab’s Law and the New Decent Homes Standard, bring a meaningful improvement to social housing conditions.

“The Government deserves credit for the steps taken to rebuild the sector’s financial capacity after years of underinvestment. However, we do have concerns about the resources available to social housing providers to meet the Government’s new social homes target while also raising standards over the decade.

“The Government’s Long-term Housing Strategy needs to set out a credible plan to tackle the need to improve existing housing stock while encouraging social landlords to build the new social homes the country needs.”

The report agrees with the Government’s decision to rollout Awaab’s Law in phases, focusing on tackling the most dangerous hazards first, but warns that social landlords and tenants need a much clearer roadmap for when the remaining phases of Awaab’s Law will be introduced.

The report calls on the Government to urgently set and publish the timeline for extending Awaab’s Law to all remaining hazards, so that tenants and social landlords have clarity about when they can expect these new regulations to apply.

High energy prices, the report warns, mean households living in homes that comply with the Government’s new minimum energy efficiency standard may still be in fuel poverty, if they struggle to afford to heat their home sufficiently.

The Committee therefore recommends the Government revise the official definition of fuel poverty to reflect this in the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy.

The Government’s proposed changes to the Decent Homes Standard are welcomed, with the report noting that the “current standard has been out-of-date for some time and is in urgent need of reform, given that it was last updated in 2006”.

To demonstrate to tenants and the public that progress is being made, the report recommends the Government put in place interim targets in homes upgrading to the revised Decent Homes Standard.

The report also calls on the Government to introduce a review to update the Decent Homes Standard at least every 10 years to ensure it “reflects the changing needs of the population, environmental pressures, scientific evidence of the hazards to health from poor housing and societal expectations of what a decent home consists of”.

Making social homes warmer and cleaner to heat

Latest grants from Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund

Communities from Shetland to Dumfries & Galloway have benefited from more than £19 million in Government funding to help make social housing more energy efficient and cleaner to heat.

Allocations from the latest funding round of the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund published today show that 27 projects across the country made successful applications, bringing clean heating and energy efficiency improvements to around 2,300 social homes.

Improvements range from the installation of external and cavity wall insulation and double or triple glazing to individual and communal heat pumps, solar PV and battery storage. 

Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Since 2021, the Scottish Government has provided almost £90 million of funding to social housing providers through this fund, helping to make more than 13,000 social homes warmer and easier and cleaner to heat.

“We are absolutely determined to tackle the twin challenges of cutting fuel poverty and reducing emissions from our homes and buildings, which can be particularly challenging with housing that is older or more difficult to heat because of its location or construction.

“I’m therefore delighted that we’ve been able to support so many social landlords to make these vital improvements. Emissions are being reduced and tenants are already benefiting from warmer homes and significant reductions in their energy bills, helping to take many households out of fuel poverty.”

Cloch Housing Association received a grant of £3.1m to support the installation of high-performance doors and triple-glazed windows to more than 550 properties in Inverclyde.

Robert Pollock, Director of Assets, Cloch Housing Association said: “Tenant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with residents reporting significant reductions in external noise and improved heat retention within their homes.

“These enhancements are making a meaningful contribution to addressing fuel poverty by enabling tenants to heat their properties more efficiently and affordably.

“Furthermore, the resulting reduction in heating demand is delivering welcome carbon savings, aligning with our broader commitment to sustainable and resilient communities. We are grateful for the scheme’s support in enabling these improvements that deliver lasting benefits for our tenants and the environment.”

Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund Progress Reports February 2026

Royal Bank of Scotland sets £10 billion funding ambition for social housing

  • The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced, through its parent NatWest Group, that it has provided more than £25 billion* in commercial loans and capital market support to the UK social housing sector between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2025.  
  • Bank has delivered on its social housing lending ambition of £7.5 billion from 2024 to 2026 a year early, which includes lending to Kingdom Housing Association in Fife last year. 

The Royal Bank of Scotland has today announced an updated package of £10 billion of funding to the UK social housing sector before the end of 2028, which when deployed will bring the total funding to social housing in the UK to over £35 billion* since 2018.  

Through this new ambition, the bank is aiming to support the delivery and maintenance of social housing in the UK, which is vital to the people and families who rely on affordable housing, as well as the wider economy. The Royal Bank of Scotland has worked with not-for-profit housing associations across Scotland to support their growth and development plans building homes and communities for many years. 

The bank also confirmed it has now provided more than £25 billion* of funding into the social housing sector since 2018, helping to create and sustain affordable homes nationwide.

The Royal Bank of Scotland aims to support the delivery and upkeep of social housing across the UK, helping housing associations build new homes, upgrade existing properties, and improve living conditions. Some of this lending can help fund energy efficiency and environmental improvements, including retrofit projects. Other funding can help the housing associations sector to deliver a pipeline of new homes and improve living conditions in existing properties. 

Paul Thwaite, CEO NatWest Group comments: “We are incredibly proud to announce the early achievement of our £7.5 billion UK social housing lending ambition.

“Delivering this milestone a full year ahead of scheduled demonstrates our commitment to making a real difference in people’s lives by investing in the homes and communities that need it most, and shows the demand in the market.  

“Reaching this lending ambition early has enabled us to set a new target of £10 billion to year-end 2028, so we can continue to provide social housing lending and play our part in supporting the development and availability of affordable and social rent homes across the UK.”  

The announcement forms part of the bank’s new five point Growing Together plan, setting out how the bank will help build the conditions for UK wide growth: backing powerful regions, championing mid-market companies, strengthening the country’s infrastructure and housing foundations, boosting financial confidence amongst families and young people, and supporting the innovators shaping the future economy.

Drawing on its regional footprint, expertise and convening power, the bank aims to bring businesses, communities, and policymakers together to tackle structural barriers, unlock productivity and spread opportunity across the UK.

In addition to these commitments, last year the Royal Bank of Scotland announced several other initiatives and partnerships that have complemented and contributed to our social housing lending ambition being achieved. These include a financial guarantee of up to £400 million from the National Wealth Fund to cover a series of new loans from Royal Bank of Scotland to registered providers of social housing stock in the UK.  

The bank also launched a new social rent loan product to support housing associations, which are already Royal Bank of Scotland customers, to support the construction of social rent houses across the UK. In December 2025, this fund was doubled to £1 billion in response to strong demand and to help continue the delivery of homes for social rent across the country. 

These initiatives complement Royal Bank of Scotland’s ongoing dedication to supporting communities and helping to address the housing crisis. 

In December, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced £20 million in additional lending to Kingdom Housing Association (KHA) headquartered in Fife.

KHA are one of Scotland’s largest registered social landlords and manage over 7,000 homes, providing a wide range of housing, care and support services. The funding will help deliver 170 new energy efficient homes in Fife and Perth and Kinross and builds on existing lending to KHA from the bank which now totals £61 million.

Tenants to be better protected from damp and mould

Regulations for Awaab’s Law to be introduced in Scotland

New regulations to protect tenants from damp and mould will be laid in the Scottish Parliament.

The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026 will introduce new duties on landlords to investigate reports of damp and mould and start any repairs needed within a set timescale if approved by Parliament.

This is the first set of regulations for the implementation of Awaab’s Law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family’s housing association flat in England.

Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “Everyone deserves to live in a home free from damp and mould. These regulations will help to ensure that’s the case by requiring any instances to be swiftly investigated by landlords and prompt action taken.

“In Scotland, while 90% of homes are free from damp and mould, we want to make sure everyone is protected. That’s why we are leading the way in rolling out these protections to both social and private tenants. We have worked closely with tenant groups, landlords and other stakeholders to develop regulations that protect tenants while being practical for landlords to implement.

“We will also be raising awareness of the importance of identifying and addressing damp and mould issues as quickly as possible.”

Taxpayer cash protected as crackdown on rogue landlords expands

Hundreds of thousands of people will benefit from an expansion of a trial to tackle poor housing and protect taxpayers’ cash from rogue landlords in England

  • Around 400,000 households receiving housing support to be better protected from rogue landlords thanks to an expanded crackdown scheme.
  • After a successful trial, 41 local authorities across England will now be empowered to better protect their local communities against non-compliance.
  • Comes as local authorities will be able to recover up to 24 months of rent from landlords who flout the rules – double the previous limit thanks to the Renters’ Right Act.

The scheme – successfully trialled in three council areas – protects public money by stopping it being wasted on unsafe housing through Rent Repayment Orders.

These legal orders clamp down on landlords who operate properties without the required licence, ignore improvement notices, or leave their houses in mouldy, dire conditions, and will now be expanded to a further 38 local authorities in England – helping to drive up living standards across the country. The scheme gives councils streamlined access to Universal Credit data which is crucial for completing Rent Repayment Order applications.

One of the trial areas – Camden, North London – is using the data sharing to recover nearly £100,000 in housing support and make a fraud referral, taking taxpayer cash out of the pockets of rogue landlords and back into the public purse.

Following successful results, the scheme – led by the Department for Work and Pensions and supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – is now being expanded. This includes areas such as Enfield, where nearly 30,000 households receiving housing support are set to be better protected for the future.

This comes alongside expanded provisions under the Renters’ Rights Act allowing local authorities to seek Rent Repayment Orders for up to 24 months of rent – double the previous 12-month limit.

Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms said: Thanks to this pilot, private renters in receipt of housing support will have stronger protections against landlords who fail to meet public standards.

!No one should live in unsafe or unsuitable housing. We are giving local authorities the tools they need to deter bad housing practice, and ensuring better value for money by upholding safe standards.”

Councillor Richard Olszewksi, Leader of Camden Council, said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. With more than a third of households in Camden privately renting, it’s vital that we ensure landlords are meeting important safety and management standards for residents.

“This pilot helps us take further action against rogue landlords and regain the public money they wrongly pocketed. We’re investing this into more enforcement action and improving private sector housing conditions for everyone across the borough.”

Living in a decent, safe home is fundamental to health and work, and vulnerable renters who live in unsuitable accommodation are limited in their ability to take on work.

Enforcing better standards will drive up living standards through incentivising better practice in the future, as well as protecting taxpayer cash.

Justice for Tenants said: “This pilot has shown that we can deter criminality in the private rented sector and help fund housing enforcement services by making those who break the law shoulder more of the cost.

“This pilot is a massive win for all law-abiding landlords, tenants receiving public funds, the NHS, and every taxpayer in the country.”

Housing Convener: Working flat out to tackle the scourge of homelessness

Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Councillor Tim Pogson writes about homelessness services

As I embark on a new role as Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, I’m all too aware of the severe pressures facing the city.

We’re now two years on from declaring a housing emergency in the Capital and demand for safe, comfortable homes is as high as ever. Edinburgh has the lowest amount of social housing per head of population in Scotland with only 14% social housing compared to a national average of 23%.

Here, 80,000 residents live in relative poverty, including one in five children. There are around 6000 homeless households in Edinburgh being supported in temporary accommodation – approximately 11,500 individuals.

These figures are stark, and as we enter colder winter months the necessity to provide warm, accessible accommodation is particularly urgent. Preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place and helping tenants to avoid reaching crisis point is the best way to make sure as many people as possible have somewhere to call home.

I’ve been really impressed by the range of preventative work already being carried out by Council officers, the third sector and other partners to assist households on the verge of homelessness.

Last year, through homelessness prevention services we helped prevent homelessness for 2,622 households under the umbrella of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan, the city’s comprehensive strategy to tackle and eradicate homelessness. The team works tirelessly to intervene early, supporting people to access settled accommodation as quickly as possible, to reduce the number of people sleeping rough and to create better outcomes for tenants.

Our Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) sets out clear actions to reduce the number of households without settled accommodation and to ease the strain on those most affected by the crisis.

I’m pleased to say we’re making progress in meeting our targets and our continued work to increase affordable housing supply and provide vital support to those at risk of homelessness is beginning to make a real difference.

However, we know this challenge cannot be solved by one organisation alone. A city-wide response is essential. I call on partners across the city from housing associations and charities to community groups, businesses and public services to join us in this collective effort.

Grant funding is critical in the delivery of affordable homes. Whilst we welcome the additional monies that Edinburgh has received over the last few years from the Scottish Government, more is required to truly address the housing emergency. I will not hesitate in advocating to the Scottish Government for Edinburgh to receive both its fair share of affordable housing funding and the investment necessary to tackle its pressing housing needs. 

Long term plans like our ambitious housebuilding programme, efforts to acquire new homes directly from providers and bringing empty homes back into use aim to increase our quality housing stock, minimising the need for temporary accommodation. 

These kinds of developments give me real encouragement that, while the housing strain can seem bleak, we’re doing everything we can to find solutions and provide residents with the quality of life they deserve. I’m ready for that challenge and look forward to working closely with colleagues and partners across the city to take it on.

This article first appeared in Edinburgh Evening News