Edinburgh housing crisis: Edinburgh rent controls needed says union as Capital 'at risk of becoming playground for the rich'

Union says people will be forced to leave city if rent controls aren’t introduced

Edinburgh is at risk of becoming a ‘playground for the rich’, a tenant union has warned after it was revealed that the majority of Scotland’s most expensive streets are in the Capital.

Living Rent said people will be forced to leave the city if rent controls are not introduced to help make living in Edinburgh more affordable.

It was revealed this week that only three of Scotland’s 25 most expensive streets are outside the capital. According to a Bank of Scotland review, Ann Street in Stockbridge is the most expensive in Scotland, with the average asking price of a property standing at £1.7 million. Wester Coates Avenue and Regent Terrace, which came in at the second and third priciest, are priced at more than £1.6m and £1.5m respectively.

Tenant union says Edinburgh could become 'playground for the rich'

Living Rent warned the findings show the scale of Edinburgh’s housing crisis as many struggle with the soaring rents, high property prices and the increased demand in the Capital.

Meg Bishop, the union’s secretary, said the prices drive home the scale of the problems “that everyone feels in the city”. She said: “With properties going for (almost) £2m, these expensive streets have had a knock-on impact on housing across the city and with it, rents which have increased by over 63 per cent over the last ten years for a two-bed home. As stats like those above demonstrate, the housing crisis in Edinburgh is only getting worse.”

Councils are increasingly turning to the private rented sector in a bid to fill the gap in available social housing, as figures show numbers waiting for council or housing association homes has risen 10,000 across Scotland in the past year. The figures have sparked fears this will further exacerbate existing shortages of homes as well as push up rents.

Bishop has called for a points-based system of rent controls to bring prices down and make rents more affordable in the Capital. “Who will be able to afford to live, let alone live well, with such prices?” she asked. “Inadequate social and private rented sector homes are streets behind these luxury areas. Tenants need rent controls and more money invested in social housing or the inequalities in housing will only get wider.”

It follows warnings by MP Tommy Sheppard that average rents - now more than £1,000 for a 2 bedroom property - are ‘beyond the pockets of most’.

Edinburgh City Council said the Capital is the lowest funded council per head of population, claiming it is “suffering from a chronic lack of support". Leader Cammy Day has said the council is making ‘real progress’ with hundreds of new quality homes being completed and under construction across the city, and record levels of investment in existing housing stock.

Housing, homelessness and fair work convener Jane Meagher said: “We’re committed to supporting people to access social housing as the significant demand here in Edinburgh currently outstrips supply. The incredible housing pressures we face here in Edinburgh mean we have one of the most expensive housing markets in the country with only 14 per cent social housing. We have a number of initiatives to support families finding homes which include the use of the private rented sector."